Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said his party would suspend fundraising events over the year-end period as he scrambles to restore trust amid a financial scandal that had potential to deteriorate already unstable support for his government. “We must have a robust sense of destructions,” he revealed clearly to reporters on Dec 6 after conferring with executives in his governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). “It’s an extremely essential and dreadful issue, and we must collaborate together to bring solutions for it.”
Some members of Mr Kishida’s long-governing LDP have encountered scrutiny in domestic media and questions from opposition lawmakers over whether they violated the law by not disclosing all funds raised by selling party tickets. Not being successful in dealing decisively with allegations that lawmakers may have concealed donations could also potentially lead to more destruction. Mr Kishida’s approval ratings and change the calculus when the party wants a fresh governer, possibly as soon as next year.