Japan's Next Prime Minister Candidate Kishida Says "No Reinvestigation" of Scandal That Shook Abe Administration

▲Fumio Kishida, Former Chairman of the LDP Policy Research Council

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Fumio Kishida, former chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party's Policy Research Council and a leading candidate for Japan's next prime minister, expressed that he has "no intention of reinvestigating" the "Morimoto Gakuen scandal."

The Morimoto Gakuen scandal refers to the controversy over the sale of national land at a low price to Morimoto Gakuen and the falsification of official documents between 2017 and 2018, which shook the then Shinzo Abe administration.

According to the Yomiuri Shimbun on the 8th, Kishida made these remarks to reporters at the National Diet the previous day.

He stated, "I will provide explanations if necessary," but also noted, "An administrative investigation has already been conducted, and a trial is underway."

Yomiuri analyzed that by clearly stating he would not reinvestigate Morimoto, Kishida was showing consideration for former Prime Minister Abe.

Earlier, on the 2nd, Kishida appeared on a Japanese satellite broadcast and said about the Morimoto scandal, "Whether the investigation is sufficient or not is for the public to judge," adding, "Since the public is saying it is insufficient, we must provide further explanations."

Kyodo News reported that within the Liberal Democratic Party, there were rumors that former Prime Minister Abe was angered by Kishida's remarks and shifted his support to Sanae Takaichi, former Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications.

Kishida officially announced his candidacy for the LDP presidency on the 26th of last month, before Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared he would not run, and Takaichi is expected to officially declare her candidacy on the same day.

There is speculation that Kishida’s apparent reversal on the Morimoto reinvestigation issue within five days was influenced by his consideration of former Prime Minister Abe and Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso, both of whom have been criticized over this matter.

Former Prime Minister Abe belongs to the Hosoda faction, the largest faction within the LDP, and Deputy Prime Minister Aso is the leader of the Aso faction, the second largest faction, both of which can exert influence over the LDP presidential election vote and counting scheduled for the 29th.

Regarding these speculations about his remarks, Kishida denied any consideration for former Prime Minister Abe or others, according to Kyodo News.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.