Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has suffered another political blow as he has defaulted on his responsibility by defending for far too long a minister who is not fit for his job and had long lost public trust.

But Kishida is grossly mistaken if he thinks the belated resignation of Daishiro Yamagiwa, state minister in charge of economic revitalization, over his ties with the Unification Church will mark an end to the scandal.

Kishida cannot hope to regain public trust unless he initiates a fresh, full-fledged investigation to clarify the entire picture of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s relations with the church, including facts related to alleged “policy pacts,” and tackle all issues raised.

Yamagiwa tendered his resignation to Kishida after weeks of being dogged by revelations about his ties with the controversial religious organization.

He has come under fire for continuing to acknowledge facts about his relationship with the church only after they were disclosed and offering frivolous explanations such as, “I have memories but no records.”

His responses to the revelations have been extremely insincere, and he amply deserves to lose his job.

In explaining his sudden decision to step down after adamantly rejecting calls for his resignation for weeks, Yamagiwa said he did not want his problem to influence Diet proceedings in the coming weeks now that deliberations at the Budget Committees of both houses have run their courses.

He showed no signs of serious remorse over having endorsed the church’s dubious activities. His remarks indicating that his resignation from the Cabinet post will reduce his responsibility to explain the related facts are outrageous.

Kishida just said he had accepted Yamagiwa’s offer to resign. As the person who appoints Cabinet ministers, Kishida should have sacked Yamagiwa much earlier. But he remained passive in responding to the Yamagiwa problem to the end.

The way he handled the matter raises serious doubt about his commitment to severing the LDP’s ties with the Unification Church, now formally called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification.

Some observers say Kishida, whose power base within the party is relatively weak, was reluctant to dismiss Yamagiwa because of concerns about possible damage to his relationship with the third largest LDP faction, led by party heavyweight Taro Aso, to which the disgraced minister belongs to.

They point out that Kishida also feared that sacking Yamagiwa could intensify the political headwinds for Koichi Hagiuda, the party's policy chief, who is said to have had deep ties with the church.

Kishida will only see public support to his administration wane further if he continues managing the government in such an inward-looking manner that belies his pledge to realize “politics of trust and sympathy.”

Given the LDP’s broad and deep relationship with the church, replacing Yamagiwa is far from sufficient to get the party off the hook with regard to this matter.

This scandal has gained a new dimension due to revelations that organizations affiliated with the church have asked LDP lawmakers to sign policy pacts in exchange for support in elections.

Kishida told Budget Committee sessions on Oct. 24 that the LDP’s survey of its members’ ties with the church covered the question of whether they had ever received support for their election campaigns from the entity, indicating his unwillingness to make a fresh inquiry into this issue.

An investigation covering all LDP lawmakers is crucial for clarifying all the facts concerning the church’s contacts with the party including those who have not received support for their election campaigns.

Referring to the party’s “review” of the matter, Kishida has proudly said that the LDP has done a more in-depth probe into the matter than any other party. But the LDP’s review was insufficient as it was basically based on reports from the members themselves and not on an active party investigation into the matter.

Lawmakers were not required to report on whether any church followers ever served as their secretaries or staff members. The review did not cover local assembly members, either.

Kishida should realize that there will be no end to the scandal unless all core questions are cleared up, such as one concerning the role that slain former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe played in linking the party with the church.

Another question centers around the process leading to the government’s decision to allow the church to change its name, which critics say led to an increase in the number of victims of the church’s shady activities.

The Asahi Shimbun, Oct. 25