BEIJING, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is considering canceling his planned trip to many Latin American countries scheduled for January 2024 against the backdrop of the political "black gold" scandal of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's faction.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, center, walks past Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno (right) after a press conference at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo, Japan, December 13, 2023. Xinhua News Agency (pool**, photo by Frank Robbichon).
Kyodo News reported on December 31, 2023, citing Japanese ** sources, that Fumio Kishida originally planned to visit Brazil and other countries, with a trip of about 10 days. After the LDP's political funding scandal was exposed, Fumio Kishida pledged to form a new body within the LDP to push for reforms to improve transparency in political funding.
According to Kyodo News, if he travels as planned, discussions on relevant reforms will be suspended, which may attract public criticism. Recently, the approval rating of Kishida's cabinet has been declining, falling to 16% at one point, setting a new record since he became prime minister.
In the past few days, the Special Investigation Department of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors' Office has continued to investigate the largest faction in the Liberal Democratic Party, the "** faction". Officially known as the Seiwa Policy Research Association, the "* faction" was once led by former Prime Minister Shinzo ** and currently has 99 members of the Diet. This faction was recently revealed to have failed to record all sales revenue from political fundraising party coupons in accordance with relevant regulations, and the cumulative total of the "small treasury" reached hundreds of millions of yen.
A number of members of the "** faction" have been accused of receiving kickbacks, including former Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno and former Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yasunori Nishimura, among others. Among them, Senator Yasumasa Ohno and Rep. Yoshitaka Ikeda were accused of receiving kickbacks of about 50 million yen (about 2.51 million yuan) and about 40 million yen (about 2.01 million yuan) respectively, and their homes and offices have been searched by prosecutors.