Kishida promises he’ll take appropriate steps ahead of a Cabinet shuffle to tackle a party scandal

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says he plans to take “appropriate steps” over his governing party’s widening slush funds scandal as speculation is rife that he may purge implicated Cabinet members in a major shuffle this week. The scandal mostly involves the Liberal Democratic Party’s largest and most powerful faction formerly led by assassinated ex-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Its key members, including those in top Cabinet and party posts, are suspected of systematically failing to report several hundred million yen in funds in a possible violation of campaign and election laws. The money is alleged to have gone into unmonitored slush funds. Kishida said he is aware of the growing public distrust and takes the scandal seriously.