Ex-health minister Goto to replace church-linked Japan economy chief
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday named former health minister Shigeyuki Goto as economic revitalization minister, replacing Daishiro Yamagiwa, who stepped down after facing a wave of criticism over his ties with the Unification Church.
Goto will assume the post Tuesday evening, only three days before the government is set to decide on an additional economic package aimed at cushioning the impact of rising prices and the coronavirus pandemic.
Kishida cited Goto’s political experience and communication skills as reasons for the appointment.
Goto, a lawmaker of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said he will act steadily in response to economic challenges such as surging energy prices and the weakening of the yen against the U.S. dollar.
Connections have been revealed between a number of LDP members and the Unification Church, a controversial religious group some call a cult, but Goto, a former Finance Ministry official, said that he has no ties with the church.
The church has been accused of forcing its followers to make financially ruinous donations, as well as engage in “spiritual sales,” in which followers pressure people to purchase vases and other items for exorbitant prices, sometimes in a coercive manner.
Despite the personnel change, the government will make sure to finalize the economic package by the end of the month, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said at a news conference.
Yamagiwa quit Monday after being criticized by the public and opposition party lawmakers for repeatedly failing to explain his connections to the Unification Church.
Whenever new accusations about his links to the organization emerged, he repeatedly responded he had “no recollection.”
An opposition leader criticized Kishida for being too slow to take action over Yamagiwa.
“The prime minister had been delaying the decision” to effectively sack Yamagiwa, said Kenta Izumi, leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan.
Izumi urged the LDP to fully investigate ties between the church and the governing party as a whole and make public the results.
Yamagiwa became the first minister to resign under Kishida, whose Cabinet approval ratings have plunged partly due to relations between LDP lawmakers and the Unification Church.