Japan minister quits over execution remarks
Fumio Kishida, the prime minister of Japan, postponed his Friday departure for three scheduled summits in Southeast Asia in order to fire and replace his justice minister, who received harsh criticism for a statement he made on the death penalty.
Yasuhiro Hanashi, the minister of justice, told reporters that he gave Kishida his resignation on Friday, two days after the prime minister said at a party meeting that his low-profile position only garnered attention at noon when he used his “hanko” stamp to sanction the death penalty.
The statement immediately drew criticism from both the opposition and Kishida’s ruling party, which is already embroiled in controversy over its decades-long ties to the Unification Church, a South Korean religious organisation accused in Japan of improper recruitment and brainwashing followers into making sizable donations.
At least two other members of Kishida’s scandal-prone Cabinet are being investigated for possible accounting fraud. Hanashi claimed that he “carelessly” used the phrase “death penalty” as an illustration and “made people feel uncomfortable.” I made the decision to quit in order to apologise to the public and to declare my intention to resume my political career.
Japan has been under fire from other countries for its lack of openness and continued usage of the death penalty.Hanashi claimed that over the previous two days, he had discussed his potential resignation with Kishida, who had instructed him to try his best to apologise and explain.
He apologised and retracted his statement after media reports suggested he was abdicating his duties, he said on Thursday. On Friday, he apologised once more and said he had no plans to step down.
Later, however, it was revealed by media reports that he had said something similar at other meetings over the previous three months. Kishida, who has a reputation for being indecisive, denied that he was offended by Hanashi’s remarks. Later, he told reporters that he had accepted Hanashi’s resignation because of how his “careless remark” had damaged public confidence in justice policies and threatened to stall parliamentary debate on important issues, such as aid for those suffering from the Unification Church’s effects on their finances and families.
Japan minister quits over execution remarks
Ken Saito, a veteran commerce ministry bureaucrat with a Harvard education, was reportedly named as Hanashi’s replacement by Kishida. Before departing on a nine-day trip to attend the ASEAN summit in Cambodia, the Group of 20 meetings in Indonesia, and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Bangkok, Kishida was compelled to deal with the issue urgently.
Hanashi, a member of Kishida’s own faction within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, was removed after serving for only three months and is the second minister to be removed since the prime minister reorganised his Cabinet in August in an effort to stem the decline in support for his administration.
