Japan’s Kishida plans new party group to help rebuild trust

TOKYO – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he will set up a new group within his ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in January 2024,

tasked with restoring trust

after allegations over a widespread failure to declare political funds.

Mr Kishida spoke to reporters about his plans late on Dec 25, hours before the Asahi newspaper reported that former LDP policy chief Koichi Hagiuda was the latest senior figure to have been questioned by prosecutors about the scandal. 

The allegations have helped push disapproval for Mr Kishida’s government to its highest since 1947 in one major poll.

While no general election has to be held until 2025, a failure to revive public support could prompt the LDP to seek to replace Mr Kishida before his term runs out in September.  

Asahi cited unidentified sources close to the matter. Tokyo prosecutors declined to comment on the report, while calls to Mr Hagiuda’s office in Tokyo went unanswered. 

Mr Hagiuda, who stepped down last week from his position as an LDP executive, is the latest in a series of high-ranking lawmakers reported to have undergone questioning over alleged concealment of money generated from fund-raising events, including the former top government spokesman. 

Tokyo prosecutors

raided the headquarters of two LDP factions

earlier in December, one of them previously headed by the late former prime minister Shinzo Abe and the other led by Mr Toshihiro Nikai. BLOOMBERG