Prime Minister Fumio Kishida appointed two new key Liberal Democratic Party leaders amid a fund scandal, in an attempt to restore order and public confidence.
Former Education Minister Kisaburo Tokai will replace LDP political chief Koichi Hagiuda.
I’m not elated, but I’ve been entrusted by the prime minister [with the position] and plan to do what I can.
Ex-Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada is set to replace the party’s Diet affairs chair Tsuyoshi Takagi.
Neither Tokai nor Hamada belong to any party faction, in line with Kishida’s attempt to appoint lawmakers not involved in the scandal. The new leaders are expected to be formally appointed on Friday when the Cabinet approves the draft 2024 budget.
In the wake of the political fund scandal, Hagiuda, Takagi and Hiroshige Seko, another party leader, announced a resignation last week. Seko’s post as secretary-general of the LDP’s upper house will remain vacant, with other party lawmakers taking over his duties.
They all belong to the 99-member faction led by former prime minister Shinzo Abe. It is suspected of underreporting ticket sales for fundraising events worth about 500 million yen. Hagiuda, Takagi and Seko are accused of failing to report kickbacks from those sales.
The Tokyo prosecutor’s office has taken on Abe’s faction over allegations that it provided kickbacks to faction members who sold more tickets than the quota allowed over the five-year period to 2022.
Fundraising tickets and kickbacks are legal, but failure to report them properly violates the Political Funds Act. Prosecutors suspect Hagiuda and Takagi may have received 10 million yen each from the unspecified ticket proceeds.
Justice Minister Ryuji Koizumi quit the Nikai faction on Wednesday amid criticism that he lacked neutrality in the ongoing investigation.
I’ve decided to resign from the Shisuikai [the official name of the Nikai faction], so as not to create a misunderstanding among the public.
Hanako Jimi, another member of the Nikai faction who is a state minister at the Osaka Kansai Japan Expo 2025, is also facing pressure to leave the faction.
