Background
After Fumio Kishida called for a 2021 Japanese general election, general election and won a supermajority on 31 October 2021, he was re-elected as the prime minister at a special session of the National Diet on 10 November 2021. As First Kishida Cabinet, his first cabinet only served 37 days, the shortest term in history, Kishida reappointed nearly all of the ministers from the previous cabinet following re-election. On 10 August 2022, the cabinet was Second Kishida Cabinet (Reshuffled), reshuffled. 7 MPs with ties to the Unification Church (UC) were dismissed following the assassination of Shinzo Abe, assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and increasing media scrutiny of Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), LDP officials' close ties with the church. On 20 August it was reported that 23 officials including 8 MPs in the new reshuffled cabinet have existing connections to the UC.Controversies between Abe and the Unification Church
The reshuffle was widely reported as a response to the local criticism of ties between Kishida's Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Unification Church (UC), following the Assassination of Shinzo Abe, assassination of the former prime minister, Shinzo Abe, on 8 July 2022. The suspected shooter, Tetsuya Yamagami, revealed that his mother went bankrupt for donating most of the family's wealth and assets to the UC. Although the suspect originally planned to target the leader of the UC, Hak Ja Han, he switched to Abe because he was unable to approach Han, and he considered Abe as one of the most influential supporters of the UC. The revelation renewed local interest in the allegedly long-standing relationship between the LDP and the UC since Abe's maternal grandfather Nobusuke Kishi's tenure, as well as accusations against the UC's practices of collecting donations fraudulently, so-called "spiritual sales". Public opinions on Kishida's decision to hold a state funeral for Abe on 27 September were also divided. According to a poll conducted by NHK from 5 to 7 August, the approval rating of Kishida's previous cabinet was 46%, down by 13% from a similar poll taken three weeks prior. Also 82% of respondents were not satisfied by the lawmakers' explanations of their ties to the UC.Kishida's responses regarding the Unification Church
Kishida stressed that the new cabinet would have all members closely examined with regard to their relationship with the UC, but media reported that at least 30 members in the reshuffled cabinet were still related to the UC to various degrees. One of the ministers who remained in office after this reshuffle, Daishiro Yamagiwa, received media scrutiny in particular for not disclosing his ties with the UC to the public before the reshuffle, as well as his ambiguous responses when being confronted by reporters about his ties to the UC. Kishida accepted Yamagiwa's resignation on 24 October 2022 as the minister following more evidences of Yamagiwa's ties to the UC surfaced and intense criticisms from the opposition parties in the parliament for his failure to remember his participation in events held by the UC and meetings with top UC officials, including the UC leader Hak Ja Han. After the cabinet reshuffle, a poll conducted from 20 to 21 August by ''Mainichi Shimbun'' showed that the approval rating of the new cabinet dropped to 36% by 16%, with 64% of respondents viewing the ties to the UC as a very serious problem. Kishida promised to cut ties with the UC and help victims of manipulative sales by the UC. Taro Kono, the minister of digital affairs who was also given the special mission for consumer affairs and food safety, established a spiritual sales review committee in the Consumer Affairs Agency on 29 August. This committee initially elected 8 experts in the UC matter including former prosecutor Shiori Kanno and Masaki Kito, a lawyer representing the National Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales which has been providing legal aid for victims and reporting on the anti-social issues of the UC since 1987. The committee was scheduled to hold publicly-viewable weekly online meetings. All committee members offered suggestions for strengthening regulations or enacting preventive measures against spiritual sales.Increase in military budget
In December 2022 the Kishida government announced a $320bn increase in military spending, due in part to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.Second reshuffle
As of 2023, Kishida has led four cabinets since the beginning of his premiership in October 2021. First Kishida Cabinet, His first cabinet lasted just 38 days, and was formed following the resignation of former Prime Minister Suga Cabinet, Yoshide Suga's cabinet. After receiving a mandate in the 2021 Japanese general election, 2021 general election, Kishida formed his second cabinet in November 2021. He reshuffled it twice, the Second Kishida Cabinet (First Reshuffle), first time being in August 2022 in the wake of the assassination of Shinzo Abe, assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe, and the second in September 2023. The second reshuffle includes more women, while also keeping potential political rivals in key roles and positions. In total, eleven first time appointees were introduced in the cabinet. The cabinet includes five women, only one of which, Sanae Takaichi, was inherited from the previous reshuffled cabinet. Most notably, Kishida replaced Minister for Foreign Affairs (Japan), Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, who had served in his cabinet since after the 2021 Japanese general election, general election, with Yōko Kamikawa, Yoko Kamikawa, who had previously served as Minister of Justice (Japan), Minister of Justice under Yoshihide Suga. Kishida also replaced Yasukazu Hamada, who had served as Minister of Defense (Japan), Defense Minister since the Second Kishida Cabinet (First Reshuffle), first reshuffle, with Minoru Kihara (politician), Minoru Kihara, who had never served as a cabinet minister before. Kishda retained Taro Kono and Sanae Takaichi in similar roles. Both had competed with Kishida for the LDP Presidency in 2021 Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) leadership election, 2021.Election of the prime minister
Changes
* Minister for Foreign Affairs (Japan), Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi was replaced by Yoshimasa Hayashi, after being chosen as the new LDP Secretary-General due to the resignation of Akira Amari.List of ministers
Cabinet
Citation of this table: List of Second Kishida Cabinet MembersFirst reshuffled cabinet
Second reshuffled cabinet
References
External links
Pages at the Prime Minister's Official Residence (Japan), Prime Minister's Official Residence of Japan (English website):