Japanese PM reshuffles cabinet as approval ratings plummet

Japan’s prime minister reshuffled his cabinet on Wednesday after a slump in approval ratings, replacing the brother of assassinated ex-leader Shinzo Abe as defense minister.

Fumio Kishida led his ruling party to victory in last month’s House of Lords elections, days after Abe was shot dead by a man resentful of the Unification Church.

Since public scrutiny of the church’s relations with Japanese politicians and Kishida’s handling of the economy, approval ratings for the government have fallen.

They fell 13 percentage points to 46 percent in three weeks, according to a poll released Monday by public broadcaster NHK, while another poll by daily Yomiuri Shimbun showed an eight-point drop to 57 percent from July.

Political veteran Yasukazu Hamada has been appointed defense minister – a key role given Kishida’s pledge to increase the defense budget to counter growing threats from China and North Korea.

Hamada, who previously served as defense minister from 2008 to 2009, replaced Abe’s brother Nobuo Kishi, whose ailing health is a cause for concern.

Kishi also recently vowed to “thoroughly review” his ties to the Unification Church after acknowledging that members of the church had served as campaign volunteers.

Since Abe’s death a month ago, Japanese media has revealed that many ruling lawmakers – particularly those in Abe’s faction – have received similar support from members of the Unification Church, something the group says adherents only do as private individuals.

The organization, founded in Korea in 1954 and known colloquially as the “Moonies”, has confirmed that the mother of the suspected Abe killer was a member.

She reportedly filed for bankruptcy after donating around 100 million yen ($1 million at the time) to the church.

The public is also divided over Kishida’s decision to hold a state funeral for Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, whose nationalist stance has been divisive.

Senior government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno read out a list of new cabinet members, including Katsunobu Kato, who served as health minister under Abe and is returning to head the ministry.

Flamboyant figure Taro Kono, who has also held several high-profile ministerial posts, has been appointed Minister of Digital Affairs and tasked with bringing more of Japan’s stubbornly analogue systems online.

And Sanae Takaichi, known for her pugnacious views, is the new economic security minister. The current foreign and finance ministers remain in office.