The opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan hardened its position against the government of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, submitting a no-confidence motion against the education minister while insisting an ethics committee meeting be convened in order to shed light on the ongoing political funds scandal.
The censure motion against Masahito Moriyama came two days ahead of a scheduled hearing by the Tokyo District Court on the Unification Church dissolution order — where the government is the plaintiff. As the head of the ministry in charge of religious affairs, Moriyama will represent the government in the procedure.
In the Lower House plenary assembly on Tuesday, CDP lawmaker Makiko Kikuta criticized Moriyama for the evasive and inconsistent responses to the accusations and questioned the current state of his connections to the Unification Church.