'Unification Church Ties' Allegation Leads to Japanese Minister's Resignation... "LDP Warns of Cabinet Members' 'Mass Resignations'"

Yamagiwa Daishiro, Japan's Minister in charge of Economic Revitalization
Photo by AP Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Yamagawa Daishiro, Minister in charge of Economic Revitalization, who faced calls for resignation from the opposition due to confirmed ties with the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (formerly the Unification Church), resigned on the 24th. This is widely regarded as a de facto dismissal. Amid the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) and the former Unification Church's entanglement controversy shaking the Fumio Kishida Cabinet, voices within Japan's ruling party are increasingly cautious about whether this incident will lead to a wave of ministerial resignations.

According to Nihon Keizai Shimbun and others, Minister Yamagawa met with Prime Minister Kishida at the Prime Minister's Official Residence in the evening and then told reporters that he had submitted his resignation letter. He first joined the cabinet when the Kishida administration was launched in October last year, handling key policies such as the "New Capitalism" initiative and COVID-19 measures, and retained his position in the cabinet reshuffle last August.

Minister Yamagawa did not clearly explain his relationship with the former Unification Church after it was revealed that he had attended several meetings hosted by the church around this summer and was photographed with Han Hak-ja, the president of the Family Federation. He said he "did not remember." Subsequently, opposition parties continued to demand his dismissal, and the Kishida Cabinet's approval ratings fell to their lowest levels. Even within the LDP, there were claims that "resigning quickly would minimize damage." It appears that this ultimately led to his decision to resign.

His resignation came suddenly. Until the afternoon of the same day, Prime Minister Kishida attended the House of Councillors Budget Committee and responded to questions about the possibility of Minister Yamagawa's dismissal by saying, "I am not considering it at all." However, after the budget committee session ended, Kishida did not attend the scheduled LDP executive meeting, and Minister Yamagawa also suspended the Economic and Fiscal Advisory Council, went to the Prime Minister's Official Residence, met with Kishida, and submitted his resignation letter, according to foreign media reports.

Later, Prime Minister Kishida told reporters, "Minister Yamagawa expressed his intention to resign due to parliamentary deliberations, and I accepted it. As Prime Minister, I decided to accept this in order to prioritize focusing on important tasks such as economic measures, relief for victims related to the former Unification Church, and prevention of recurrence." Asahi Shimbun reported that Kishida was dissatisfied with Minister Yamagawa's responses regarding the former Unification Church issue and seemed to have made up his mind since last weekend.

Japanese foreign media evaluated that Minister Yamagawa was effectively dismissed. Particularly in Japanese political circles, there were repeated criticisms that Minister Yamagawa's offer to resign came too late. It is seen as having influenced the Kishida Cabinet's approval ratings dropping to the 20-30% range and the worsening public opinion related to the former Unification Church. A senior LDP lawmaker expressed dissatisfaction, saying, "The Prime Minister's leadership is not visible. He is just flustered and panicking over the falling approval ratings."

Nihon Keizai reported, "Minister Yamagawa's resignation has made the question of ministerial responsibility ambiguous. There are many LDP lawmakers with connections to the former Unification Church besides Minister Yamagawa. If one resigns, the issue of responsibility could spread to other ministers or party officials," and noted that the LDP is wary of the possibility of a wave of ministerial resignations.

The controversy over the ruling LDP's ties with the former Unification Church has emerged as the hottest issue in recent Japanese politics since former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot and killed on July 8.

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