JAPAN TIMES



 

Economic revitalization minister Daishiro Yamagiwa resigned on Monday over his links to the controversial Unification Church, in another blow to the Cabinet of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

The decision comes after calls from opposition parties demanding Yamagiwa’s resignation since the beginning of the parliamentary session that convened on Oct. 3. Kishida had been rejecting the demand, but Yamagiwa apparently yielded to mounting calls for him to step down.

“I’ve caused trouble for the administration” by not being forthcoming over ties to the religious group, Yamagiwa told reporters after tendering his resignation to Kishida. “This was the last moment for me to resign before it would affect (deliberations over) the economic stimulus package.”

Kishida later said he would appoint Yamagiwa’s replacement on Tuesday.
The prime minister said Yamagiwa offered to resign, but a senior government official said Yamagiwa was “effectively sacked.”

“He should have resigned before the extraordinary Diet session was convened,” main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan chief Kenta Izumi said. “Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s lack of decisiveness made things worse and his responsibility as the person who appointed (Yamagiwa) is also grave.”

Kishida has taken on a tougher stance toward the Unification Church after criticism that he had not gone far enough in clamping down on the group.
Last week, he instructed the education ministry to investigate the church over the problematic “spiritual sales” tactics, which could pave the way for the group to be stripped of its “religious corporation” status.

If the group is deemed to have violated the Religious Corporation Law or is “conducting activities significantly damaging public welfare,” the government has the authority to start the process of stripping the group of the status. A court will then decide whether that will go ahead.

But even if the group is stripped of that status, it would still be allowed to conduct religious activities.

On Monday, Kishida promised to meet with victims of the Unification Church, including former followers and children of current believers as well as lawyers assisting them, to hear about their financial struggles and other problems caused by the religious group.

It is rare for a prime minister to exchange views in person with people who have suffered as the result of a socially problematic organization, and Kishida did not elaborate when and where such a meeting would take place.

Kishida’s support rate in media polls has seen a steady decline over the past few months. An NHK poll conducted from Oct. 8-10, showed that those who don’t support the administration, 43%, topped those who do, 38%, for the first time since Kishida took office a year ago.

The poll also showed that only 18% of the respondents gave positive responses regarding Kishida’s handling of the Unification Church issue, while 73% judged it negatively.

Yamagiwa has been under fire for lack of explanation about his links to the group, which has drawn attention over problematic practices such as its spiritual sales in which people are talked into buying jars and other items for exorbitant prices.

Yamagiwa admitted earlier this month that he met with Hak Ja Han Moon — widow of the Unification Church’s founder, Sun Myung Moon — in 2018.

“I remembered meeting her somewhere, but I didn’t come forward with it because it would be inaccurate to talk about it, since I wasn’t sure where I’d met her,” Yamagiwa told reporters this month.

Yamagiwa had also admitted he attended a meeting of a group affiliated with the Unification Church 11 years ago in Nigeria.

In September, an LDP survey revealed that 180 lawmakers have had links to the Unification Church.