Japan PM Kishida sets up LDP reform task force in bid to restore support

TOKYO – 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 has fallen to record lows over

a wide-ranging scandal.

Led by veteran lawmakers from the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), including two former premiers, the reform group held its first meeting on Jan 11.

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 January. 

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

The deepening turmoil has

pushed Mr Kishida’s disapproval ratings to the worst

for a Japanese prime minister since 1947 in one major poll, and intensified speculation that 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.

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 in late 2023, when Mr Kishida’s support was already sagging, with many voters frustrated by real incomes falling as inflation rose.

He initially responded by halting year-end fund-raising events and then

reshuffled his Cabinet

as he sought to hold on to the top job.

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 fund-raising events organised by party factions. Public support has continued to sag.

“The LDP must change if we are to restore public trust and protect democracy,” Mr 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 Mr Kishida as he stayed more or less in line with an agenda set by Mr Abe, his long-serving former boss. 

Mr Kishida’s predecessor, Mr Yoshihide Suga, on Jan 11 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, Prof Uchiyama said. BLOOMBERG