Japan slush fund probe implicates Premier Fumio Kishida’s faction: Report

Potentially derailing his battle to contain the fallout from a party-wide scandal over political finances, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s faction within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party is suspected of having concealed funds, according to a Bloomberg report, citing Japanese public broadcaster NHK. His group is thought to have under-reported money raised, the NHK report said on Tuesday, citing unidentified sources close to the matter. Bloomberg, citing Japan’s Asahi newspaper, reported on Monday that Kishida is likely to replace up to 15 ministers and junior ministers as he tries to manage the repercussions from a slush fund scandal that threatens to bring down his government. According to the report, as suspicions grow that the group had routinely disguised campaign funding, all members of the Liberal Democratic Party faction led by the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are reportedly being removed from office. Kishida also intends to remove members of the Abe faction from high party positions, as reported over the weekend by the media. “I’ll take appropriate action at the appropriate time, to avoid delays to management of the government,” Bloomberg quoted Kishida as saying to reporters Monday, declining to comment further on his plans. Meanwhile, a top Japanese minister at the centre of allegations of missing funds survived a no-confidence motion on Tuesday, with Kishida saying he wanted his cabinet chief to stay in his role despite reports of an imminent reshuffle. The motion against Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, a powerful figure who coordinates policy across government on Kishida’s behalf, brought by the main opposition party was comprehensively voted down by 278 members to 166. After the vote, Kishida - who has seen his public ratings slide over the reports of a probe into allegations that some lawmakers received thousands of dollars in unreported funds - said he wanted Matsuno to continue in his post. Local media had reported Matsuno was among four cabinet ministers that could be replaced as soon as Wednesday, as Kishida has pledged to restore trust in government amid the allegations. Matsuno, who holds daily press briefings as the government’s top spokesperson, earlier on Tuesday repeated that he would respond appropriately to the allegations after examining political funds. With inputs from agencies