Japanese PM Kishida to Resign as Head of Ruling Party Faction Amid Slush Funds Scandal

 

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is reportedly stepping down as the leader of his faction within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in the wake of a growing slush funds scandal. Kishida, who also serves as the president of the LDP, is expected to officially announce his resignation from Kochikai, the party's fourth-largest faction, later in the day, according to sources cited by the national news agency Kyodo.

Kochikai is one of five LDP factions implicated in allegedly underreporting revenue from political fundraising events, with suspicions that additional income may have been distributed as kickbacks to some lawmakers. The Seiwaken faction, the largest within the LDP and formerly led by the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, is specifically under scrutiny for allegedly accumulating secret funds amounting to approximately 100 million yen (about $679,000) over the past five years through 2022. Recent media reports suggest that at least 10 LDP lawmakers associated with the Abe faction received kickbacks.

While it is common for prime ministers to maintain a certain distance from their factions during their tenure, Kishida has been actively leading his faction since assuming office in October 2021. The decision to step down comes in the aftermath of Kishida's call on Wednesday for all LDP factions to temporarily halt fundraising events, signaling a move into "damage control mode," as described by the Japan Times.