Japan’s political system has been dominated by the conservative Liberal Democratic Party for most of this century which has been the governing party in Japan since 2012. However, a plethora of issues has now threatened the LDP’s standing and the whole country now braces for turmoil.
The rapid decline of the LDP’s popularity began back in 2022 when the scrutiny of the LDP’s connection to the Unification Church cult was increased in the wake of the assassination of former LDP prime minister Shinzo Abe by a disgruntled ex-soldier who held the Church and Abe responsible for his mother’s bankruptcy. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reshuffled his cabinet in an attempt to save face and distance himself and the party from the cult but damage was done and before the scandal, Kishida and his government had only a 30% approval rating.
The scandal began when opposition lawmakers questioned Kishida about allegations that members of the Seiwakai faction, the LDP’s nationalist and largest faction, had collected an unreported ¥100 million ($675,000) in fundraiser money during campaigns and were storing the money in slush funds. Kishida sacked multiple cabinet officials after these allegations became public but the pressure has only further intensified as now the National Police Agency has begun investigating five of the six factions within the party. Kishida, despite not being implicated, removed himself as leader of the moderate Kōchikai faction. On January 7th, the first arrests were made in the scandal with more expected to follow. The Seiwakai, Kōchikai, and Shisuikai factions were dissolved on January 19th, sending a shockwave through LDP ranks.
Experts have called the scandal “Japan’s worst political scandal in decades.”The Constitutional Democratic Party, Japan’s second largest party, leader Kento Izumi has said the LDP lacks “self cleansing” and former Japanese Communist Party leader Kazuo Shii referred to the situation as “bottomless”. Kishida’s approval rating dropped to 14%, the lowest for any Prime Minister or his government since 2008. As far as polling for the next election, the LDP still has a lead due to a split in the Japanese left, but this could change as his approval and general cynicism towards politics in Japan grows.
