In a major development, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday expressed regret over his son’s action and insisted that he, as his acting policy secretary, take responsibility for using the prime minister’s residence for a private party. I am resigning, which was mocked in the magazine. Such pictures which created resentment among the people.
Shotaro Kishida, his father’s executive secretary for political affairs and eldest son, invited a group of people, including relatives, to a year-end party at the prime minister’s official residence on 30 December.
Photos published by the weekly Shukan Bunshun magazine show Kishida’s son and his relatives on a red-carpeted staircase, in imitation of group photos taken of newly appointed cabinets with his son in the center – the position reserved for the prime minister.
Other photos show guests standing on a podium as if holding a news conference.
Kishida calls his son’s action ‘inappropriate’
“As the (prime minister’s) political affairs secretary, a public position, his actions were inappropriate and I decided to replace him to take responsibility,” Kishida told reporters on Monday night. He said his son would be replaced by another secretary, Takayoshi Yamamoto, on Thursday.
Kishida acknowledged that he did briefly greet the guests but said that he did not stay at the dinner party. He said he gave his son a stern rebuke to the party, but that he had failed to quell criticism from opposition MPs and the public outcry, which pushed his approval ratings down.
politics of nepotism
Kishida appointed his son as policy secretary in October, one of eight secretary positions for the prime minister. The appointment, seen as a move to groom his successor, was criticized as nepotism, which is common in Japanese politics, which has long been dominated by hereditary lawmakers. His son was previously his father’s personal secretary.
It was not the first time Kishida’s son has come under fire for using his official position for personal activities. He was reprimanded for using embassy cars for private sightseeing in Britain and Paris, and for buying souvenirs for cabinet members at a luxury department store in London when he accompanied his father on trips. .
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno called the first son’s party at the official residence “inappropriate” and promised to ensure proper management of the facility to prevent future abuses.
The nearly 100-year-old building was previously the office of the prime minister and became a residence in 2005 when a new office was built.
(with inputs from agencies)