PM Fumio Kishida Loses Third Minister in Less than a Month

VIVA – Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida accepted the resignation of Home Affairs Minister, Minoru Terada on Sunday, November 20, 2022. This is a new blow for Kishida as three Ministers have resigned from their positions in less than a month.

Minoru Terada's resignation was due to mounting pressure over a fund-related scandal amid falling support ratings for his cabinet. As reported by the Associated Press (AP), Minoru Terada has come under criticism for several accounting and funding irregularities.

While two other ministers left their posts as a result of misconduct or close ties to the controversial Unification Church.

First, Minister of economic revitalization, Daishiro Yamagiwa was forced out on account of his close ties to the controversial religious group. Second, Minister of Justice, Yasuhiro Hanashi lost his position due to comments widely perceived as disparaging his role in authorizing the execution of death row inmates.

Moreover, Minoru Terada told reporters after meeting with Kishida at the prime minister's official residence that he did not want to be an obstacle to the government's legislative efforts during the ongoing parliamentary session.

Kishida told reporters that Terada's replacement would be announced on Monday morning. He then asked former Japanese Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto to fill the position of home affairs minister.

"I apologize for the series of resignations," Kishida told reporters.

He then said "As a politician, I must secure public trust by strengthening and monitoring my administration,"

Minoru Terada, the LDP and House Representative who oversees election-related affairs and the communications industry as a minister, was recently the subject of a weekly magazine report accusing him of political misuse of funds, prompting calls for his resignation from opposition parties who see him as unfit to oversee election-related legislation.

Shukan Bunshun magazine reported that Terada paid about 40,000 yen as gifts to six local assembly members in his Hiroshima Prefectural constituency for their support of his election campaign in October last year. Such payments are prohibited by the public office election law.

Among other cases, Terada has acknowledged a weekly report that found one of his support groups submitted local government annual political funding documents for 2019 and 2020 signed by a person who died in October 2019.

The political fund control law stipulates that when a person who signs a document dies, the support group must report the death to the local government within seven days. This was not complied with by the group.