Japan Prime Minister Kishida Launches Reform Panel in Bid to Restore Support

Isabel Reynolds and Yuki Hagiwara
·2 min read
1
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida launched a task force to reform his ruling party’s financial dealings, in a fresh attempt to restore support for his government that’s fallen to record lows over a wide-ranging scandal.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Led by veteran lawmakers from the Liberal Democratic Party, including two former premiers, the reform group held its first meeting Thursday. The agenda included potential changes to the law and to the way the party’s internal factions are run. A report is due by the end of the month.

“A lot depends on whether he can achieve drastic reforms,” Yu Uchiyama, a politics professor at the University of Tokyo, said of Kishida. “At this point, it doesn’t look as though he can.”

The deepening turmoil has pushed Kishida’s disapproval ratings to the worst for a Japanese prime minister since 1947 in one major poll and intensified speculation his days at the helm are numbered.

No general election need be held until 2025, though further falls in approval could prompt his party to seek to replace him even before his term as LDP leader ends in September.

Read: Japan’s Kishida Removes Ministers in Bid to Stay in Power

Most LDP lawmakers are members of factions that act as parties within the party — raising their own funds and promoting their members for key government positions.

The scandal hit late last year when Kishida’s support was already sagging, with many voters frustrated by real incomes falling as inflation rose. He initially responded by halting year-end fundraising events and then reshuffled his cabinet as he sought to hold on to the top job.

Read: Japan Premier’s Woes Fuel Speculation About Potential Successors

Since then, one LDP lawmaker has been arrested and several others — including former cabinet ministers — questioned as prosecutors probe allegations that they failed to declare money generated from fundraising events organized by party factions. Public support has continued to sag.

“The LDP must change if we are to restore public trust and protect democracy,” Kishida told the meeting. “This must be our first and biggest priority.”

Many of those facing allegations are members of a faction formerly run by the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The group has been largely supportive of Kishida as he stayed more or less in line with an agenda set by Abe, his long-serving former boss.

Kishida’s predecessor Yoshihide Suga on Thursday joined calls for the factional system to be abolished, according to Kyodo News. Yet the premier’s dependence on these groups to manage his administration means he is unlikely to do anything to damage them, Uchiyama said.

(Updates with comments from prime minister in ninth paragraph.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.