Third Japanese cabinet member in a month resigns, causing blow to PM’s shaky support

Internal affairs minister Minoru Terada tendered his resignation to Kishida after media reports the premier was preparing to sack him.

Japan’s internal affairs minister resigned on Sunday in connection with a funding scandal, becoming the third cabinet member to leave in less than a month in a severe blow to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s already shaky support.

Kishida’s approval ratings have sunk after the July assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe revealed deep and longstanding ties between ruling Liberal Democratic Party politicians and the Unification Church, a group that critics say is a cult.

Internal affairs minister Minoru Terada tendered his resignation to Kishida after media reports the premier was preparing to sack him. Kishida’s office could not be reached for comment on those reports.

A poll conducted over the weekend, before Terada’s resignation, found that only 30.5% of respondents approved of Kishida, down 2.6 points from a survey in October, Asahi TV said on Monday. Just over half, 51%, disapproved of how he had handled the resignation of two previous ministers, economic revitalisation minister Daishiro Yamagiwa and justice minister Yasuhiro Hanashi.

Terada, under fire for several funding scandals, has acknowledged that one of his support groups had submitted funding documentation ostensibly signed by a dead person.

Kishida said he had accepted Terada’s resignation in order to prioritise parliamentary debate, including discussions on a second extra budget for the fiscal year ending in March.

Asked about the fact that three ministers have resigned since Oct. 24, Kishida said he would like to apologise.

“I feel a heavy responsibility,” he told reporters, adding that he planned to formally name Terada’s successor early on Monday. He is likely to nominate Takeaki Matsumoto, a former foreign minister, NHK public television said.