TOKYO: Three Japanese ministers tendered their resignations on Thursday amid an unfolding political funds scandal centering on the largest faction of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Xinhua quoted local media reports.
Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Yasutoshi Nishimura; Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications, Junji Suzuki, and Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Ichiro Miyashita, submitted letters of resignation Thursday morning, public broadcaster NHK said.
Meanwhile, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno was expected to do the same later in the day at a press conference, the report said.
The LDP has recently been under heavy scrutiny amid accusations that its largest faction failed to declare hundreds of millions of yen in fundraising revenue in political funding reports, possibly pooling secret funds.
Allegations have been levelled against several key Cabinet and LDP figures from the faction, namely Seiwaken, or the Seiwa policy study group previously led by the late former prime minister Shinzo Abe.
Meanwhile, Sputnik reported that Matsuno announced his resignation against the background of an ongoing kickback scandal.
“There are different opinions about the funds of political parties now. The people’s trust in politics is decreasing because of it. There are different references to my own reporting of political funds as well. To ensure that there are no delays in national politics, today I submitted a letter to Prime Minister (Fumio) Kishida asking him to relieve me of my post as the chief cabinet secretary,“ Matsuno told a news conference. – Bernama, Agencies
