Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delayed his departure for three upcoming Southeast Asian summits to fire and replace his justice minister, who was widely criticized for an absurd remark he made about endorsing the death penalty. Justice Minister Yasuhiro Hanashi told reporters on Friday that he had tendered his resignation to Kishida, two days after she commented at a party meeting that his low-profile job only became midday news when he used the “hanko” stamp to approves the death sentences in the morning. The remark quickly sparked criticism from the opposition as well as Kishida’s ruling party, which is already mired in controversy over its ties to the Unification Church, a South Korea-based religious group accused in Japan of improper recruitment and persuading her followers to make huge financial donations. At least two other members of Kishida’s scandal-prone cabinet also face charges of accounting irregularities. “I carelessly used the term death penalty as an example,” which had made people and ministry officials “uncomfortable,” Hanashi said. “I have decided to resign to express my apology to the people and my determination to resume my political career.” Hanashi said he had consulted with Kishida over the past two days about his possible resignation and was advised to do his best to apologize and explain his insensitive comments. “I apologize and retract my remark that I was faced with media reports that created the impression that I was taking my responsibility lightly,” he said Thursday. He issued another apology earlier Friday and denied any intention to resign. But media reports later revealed he had made similar comments at other meetings over the past three months. Japan has faced international criticism for its continued use of the death penalty. Kishida, who has a reputation for indecisiveness, denied taking Hanashi’s comments lightly. He later told reporters that he accepted Hanashi’s resignation because his “careless comment” had damaged public confidence in the justice system. Kishida said he appointed former Agriculture Minister Ken Saito, a Harvard-educated former Commerce Department bureaucrat, as Hanassi’s replacement. The scandal forced Kishida to delay his departure for a nine-day trip to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Cambodia, the Group of 20 meetings on the Indonesian island of Bali and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). ) forum in Bangkok. Hanashi, a member of Kishida’s faction in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, has been in office for just three months and is the second minister to be fired since the prime minister reshuffled his cabinet in August in a failed attempt to reverse the government’s declining popularity of. Last month, Daishiro Yamagiwa resigned as finance minister after facing criticism for not explaining his ties to the Unification Church. The ruling party’s ties to the Unification Church emerged after the assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe in July. Ties to the church date back to Abe’s grandfather, former prime minister Nobusuke Kishi, who supported the religious group’s anti-communist stance and helped it take root in Japan. A police investigation into Abe’s killing also shed light on problems affecting family members of churchgoers, including poverty and neglect. Investigators said Tetsuya Yamagami, who is accused of shooting Abe on July 8, initially wanted to kill the Unification Church leader, whom he blamed for his family’s financial ruin. Yamagami’s mother, a devout follower, reportedly donated about 100 million yen ($720,461) to the church and bankrupted his family.
