Kishida Reshuffles Cabinet In Move Likely To Cause Further Tensions

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delivered on his pledge to purge his Cabinet of representatives of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) most powerful Abe faction amid the ongoing political fundraising scandal, which local observers suggest may result in further tensions within his administration.

• Kishida tapped former Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi (Kishida faction) to become Chief Cabinet Secretary. Former Justice Minister Ken Saito (unaffiliated) became the new Economy Minister, former Regional Revitalisation Minister Tetsushi Sakamoto (Moriyama faction) became Agriculture Minister, while Takeaki Matsumoto (Aso faction) returned as Internal Affairs Minister.
• Asahi ran an op-ed arguing that Kishida has become increasingly dependent on LDP Vice President Taro Aso amid the decline of his own position within the ruling party. The newspaper claims that two lawmakers Yasukazu Hamada and Masashi Adachi rejected Kishida's offers to join his Cabinet, which suggests that the Prime Minister is struggling to control the party.
• The latest Jiji opinion poll showed that Kishida Cabinet's approval rating plunged to just 17.1%, marking the first time that the metric bell below 20% since the electoral defeat of the Aso administration in 2009. The disapproval rating rose to 58.2%, an all-time high for the Kishida Cabinet. In addition 86.0% of respondents said that Kishida's response to the political fundraising scandal was insufficient.