Japan: PM sacks 3rd minister in a month

TOKYO: Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida sacked his internal affairs minister on Sunday over funding irregularities, in a blow to his scandal-prone Cabinet that has already lost two ministers in one month.

Internal affairs minister Minoru Terada has been under fire over several accounting and funding irregularities. In one, he acknowledged that one of his support groups submitted accounting records carrying a dead person’s signature.

“I apologise for the series of resignations,” Kishida said. Terada showed up at the Prime Minister’s Office and told reporters that he had submitted his resignation to Kishida, though he did not say he was asked to do so.

“I made up my mind because

I must not interfere with parliamentary discussion of key legislations because of my problems,” Terada said.

Terada, who has been grilled over the scandal for over a month, said his feelings were swayed between his hope to contribute to the Kishida Cabinet while being concerned about causing trouble because of his funding problems.

Economic revitalisation minister Daishiro Yamagiwa quit on October 24 after facing criticism over his lack of explanations about his ties to the Unification Church, starting what became known as “a resignation domino” of the Kishida Cabinet.

Terada’s departure comes only 10 days after justice minister Yasuhiro Hanashi was forced to resign over his remark that his job is low profile and only makes news when he signs the death penalty.