The Japan News by The Yomiuri Shimbun
Kishida replaces justice minister following death penalty gaffe
Justice Minister Yasuhiro Hanashi submitted a letter of resignation to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the Prime Minister’s O ce on Nov. 11, and Kishida accepted his resignation. Hanashi had made controversial remarks appearing to make light of his duties related to executions of death-row inmates, according to sources.
Ken Saito, 63, has been picked as the next justice minister, Kishida announced on that evening.
“It is regrettable that the situation has come to the point of resignation,” Kishida told reporters at the Prime Minister’s O ce. “I seriously felt my responsibility for the appointment.”
Kishida added, “A er the plenary session of the House of Councillors, [Hanashi] offered me his resignation, and I accepted it, considering the weight and impact of his comment.”
Saito has been elected ve times to the House of Representatives in Chiba’s No. 7 Constituency. He has also served as the agriculture, forestry and sheries minister in the past.
In relation to this issue,
Kishida has postponed his departure for a trip to the three Southeast Asian countries of Cambodia, Indonesia and ailand on a government-chartered plane that was scheduled for the a ernoon of Nov. 11.
Kishida was scheduled to arrive in Phnom Penh on Nov. 11 to attend summits in connection with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in the Cambodian capital on Saturday.
Hanashi is the second Kishida Cabinet member to resign
since the start of the Cabinet, following former Economic Revitalization Minister Daishiro Yamagiwa on Oct. 24. A series of Cabinet member resignations is sure to deal a blow to Kishida’s handling of his administration as the Cabinet approval rating plummets.
Hanashi, 63, a House of Representative lawmaker of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party who has been elected six times in Ibaraki Constituency No. 3, told a political gathering for LDP lawmakers in Tokyo on Nov. 9, “Justice minister is an obscure role that only makes headlines in the news a er [an order to execute] a death penalty has been stamped in the morning.”
Moreover, Hanashi had also said that his number of TV appearances had increased in connection to his being in charge of helping victims of the Uni cation Church (formally known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unication).
In response to his remarks, some in the government and ruling parties said that it would be di cult for Hanashi to continue in his ministerial job and he should step down as soon as possible.
During a House of Councillors plenary session on the morning of Nov. 11, Kishida had expressed his intention to retain Hanashi in the Cabinet, saying, “He must renew his awareness of the heavy responsibility of his duty and o er thorough accountability on the issue.” (Nov. 12)