Domestic ‘crisis’ hits Japanese premier’s foreign trips

ISTANBUL

Grappling with a “crisis” in the government, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was forced to “postpone” trips to Southeast Asia on Friday, including one to Cambodia, which is hosting a summit of Southeast Asian nations bloc attended by world leaders.

“Kishida decided to postpone his departure after he dismissed Justice Minister Yasuhiro Hanashi for his controversial remarks that were widely seen as making light of his role in authorizing the executions of death-row inmates,” the Tokyo-based Kyodo News reported.

​​​​​​​Kishida was scheduled to fly out of Japan on Friday afternoon, local time.

The prime minister was scheduled to attend the 40th and 41st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summits and related meetings in Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital, on Saturday and Sunday, alongside regional leaders and presidents of the US and South Korea.

Kishida's cabinet has a low public approval rating, which has been exacerbated by outgoing Minister Hanashi, who said on Wednesday that his “ministerial portfolio is a low-key position” and “it becomes a top story in daytime news programs only when stamping a seal on documents of execution.”

The remarks drew harsh criticism, with government sources claiming that they made “light of his role in authorizing the executions of death-row inmates."

Hanashi, who has been a minister since August, would be the second cabinet member to be fired by Kishida, who sacked another minister last month over alleged ties to the controversial Unification Church.

Ken Saito, a former Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries minister, is expected to replace Hanashi as Japan's new justice minister. The outgoing minister has submitted resignation to the premier.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party is mired in a crisis, mainly linked to the church, which Kishida has sought to clear by asking members to clarify their positions.

Kishida government’s approval rating hit when he decided to hold a state funeral for slain Premier Shinzo Abe despite public outcry amid inflation and weakening Yen.

According to Michael Penn, a Tokyo-based journalist, Kishida is "really having difficulty picking himself up off the floor in terms of public approval."

“While he isn't causing the problems himself, his weakness in dealing with ruling party matters is the common thread,” he wrote on Twitter.