PM Kishida taps Takeaki Matsumoto as new internal affairs minister
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Monday he has appointed former Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto as the new internal affairs minister, replacing Minoru Terada who stepped down amid growing criticism over political funds-related scandals.
Terada tendered his resignation the previous day, becoming the third minister to be effectively sacked in less than a month.
Kishida said at the prime minister’s office that he had selected Matsumoto for his wide-ranging expertise in areas such as taxation and telecommunications as well as his experience as a Cabinet minister.
Regarding the possibility of extending the ongoing parliamentary session beyond Dec. 10 due to a spate of minister resignations, the prime minister said the government will do its best to pass important bills, including one for the second supplementary budget for the current fiscal year.
Matsumoto said he will make efforts to “gain public trust.”
Matsumoto served as foreign minister under the now-defunct Democratic Party of Japan when it was in power between 2009 and 2012. He left the DPJ in 2015 and joined the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in 2017.