Mito Kakizawa, state minister of justice, resigned Tuesday after admitting his involvement in election campaign misconduct in the spring, further weakening Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s already precarious standing with the public.
On Tuesday, the Asahi Shimbun reported on Kakizawa’s involvement in the alleged online posting of a paid campaign advertisement in April, when Yayoi Kimura was elected as mayor of Tokyo's Koto Ward.
According to media reports, Kakizawa — a Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker representing the capital’s Koto Ward in the Lower House — admitted that he had recommended Yayoi’s team make use of paid YouTube advertising during her campaign, without knowing such an action would constitute a violation of the election law. The case is currently being investigated by the Tokyo prosecutor’s office.
“I was told by a person who used (online advertising) in the first half of the local-election campaign that it was very effective and I shared that (with Kimura’s camp),” Kakizawa told the Asahi Shimbun, raising concerns of widespread election malpractice. He denied any personal involvement in the production or financing of the advertising. “(Kimura) probably wouldn’t have made use of the advertising of her own free will if I hadn’t recommended it,” Kakizawa added.
The Public Office Election Law forbids the use of online paid advertising that shows a candidate’s name or party affiliation during electoral campaigns both at the national and local level.
Before being elected as mayor of Koto Ward, Kimura, the daughter of a former lawmaker representing Koto Ward in the Lower House, served two terms as a member of the LDP. Last Thursday, she announced her intention to officially step down from her position in November.
After the news of Kakizawa’s resignation broke in the midst of a Budget Committee meeting in parliament, Justice Minister Ryuji Koizumi admitted that he had spoken to Kakizawa over the phone regarding the case in the morning before the committee session began, but said that he wasn’t aware of the resignation at the time.
“I instructed him to take responsibility as a politician and he said he intended to do so,” Koizumi said, answering questions from an opposition lawmaker.
Kakizawa’s resignation comes almost a week later after former reconstruction and education vice minister Taro Yamada resigned from his position over an extramarital affair, and represents another blow to Kishida’s popularity amid dwindling approval ratings.
Both Kakizawa and Yamada were appointed to their positions in the latest Cabinet reshuffle in September.
Before accepting Kakizawa's resignation in the afternoon, Kishida expressed regret during the budget committee.
“I am aware that, for the position of the state minister of justice, law enforcement must be stricter,” Kishida said. “I feel responsible for the appointment myself.”
Debates in the budget committee were interrupted for almost two hours, after Kakizawa failed to attend to the meeting, despite a previous agreement between ruling and opposition parties. Discussions resumed around 14:45, after Kakizawa had a brief meeting with Koizumi and the government decided to accept his resignation.
On that occasion, Koizumi told the committee that the decision to exclude Kakizawa from the committee had been taken by bureaucrats at the ministry of justice without prior consultation.
"I think this is a serious problem that should never happen again," Koizumi apologized to the audience, pledging to take further action on the matter.
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