Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is battling low approval ratings, will replace a government minister for the fourth time since he created his current cabinet in August.

Kishida would soon replace Kenya Akiba, a minister responsible for overseeing the reconstruction of areas hit by Japan's massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011 after the cabinet member has drawn criticism for alleged inappropriate use of political funds and close links with the Unification Church, which critics say is a cult, according to national public broadcaster NHK on Monday. 

Accusations against Akiba have been cited by survey respondents as one reason for Kishida's low approval ratings. Akiba's office said it had nothing to say on the matter when contacted for comment on the allegations.

The discussions of the replacement are still underway. NHK initially reported that Akiba will be replaced by former financial services agency minister Tatsuya Ito, but later corrected that report to say a successor has not been picked.

The Kyodo news agency reported on Friday that Kishida has been considering swapping some of his ministers in a bid to boost his approval ratings. Since taking office in October 2021, Kishida has seen his approval rating fall in several leading polls to its lowest level.

Though there are still two years for Kishida to face another election, the declining approval ratings make it more difficult for Kishida to control his party and push his policy pledges, including an increase in defense spending through parliament. The local news reported that Kishida believes that cabinet members best by scandals helped drag his support rate lower.

"All I can say is that we must make the necessary preparations for next year's diet (parliament) session. That's all I can say," Kishida said on Monday when asked whether he planned to replace Akiba.

Kishida also plans to replace Mio Sugita, his Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Internal Affairs, who made discriminatory comments in early December, calling sexual minorities "unproductive," Kyodo reported on Monday citing multiple unidentified government sources.

In the past two months, three other ministers in Kishida's cabinet have left: former Economy Minister Daishiro Yamagiwa who was pressured to resign in October over his links to a church with fundraising problems, Justice Minister Yasuhiro Hanashi who stepped down after quipping that he only got noticed when he signed off on executions, and Internal Affairs Minister Minoru Terada, who stepped aside over accusations of political funding irregularities.

(With input from Reuters)