Japan’s Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, has informed officials that he intends to carry out a cabinet reshuffle on September 13, as reported by the public broadcaster NHK on Friday.
Kishida has witnessed a decline in his approval ratings following a series of government setbacks in implementing a policy aimed at integrating tax and social security data into a single identification card.
Adding to his challenges, on Thursday, there was unwelcome news as former ruling Liberal Democratic Party member Masatoshi Akimoto was arrested on suspicion of accepting bribes.
Expressing his disappointment at the arrest, Kishida remarked, “I believe that as lawmakers, we must focus on the job at hand with a sense of vigilance,” while in Indonesia on the sidelines of a regional summit meeting.
According to the Asahi newspaper, during a voluntary interview with investigators, Akimoto denied the charges against him.
A Yomiuri newspaper poll conducted in late August revealed that 35% of respondents approved of Kishida’s leadership, while 50% expressed opposition. Furthermore, 56% of the surveyed individuals believed that Kishida should initiate a cabinet renewal and make changes to the senior leadership of the ruling party.
