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Japan's Reconstruction Minister Kenya Akiba holds a press conference in Tokyo, Japan, December 27, 2022. /CFP
Japan's Minister for Reconstruction, Kenya Akiba, submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday, marking the fourth minister to leave since Kishida reshuffled his cabinet in August.
Three other ministers have quit in close succession due to scandals, some involving funding and ties with the Unification Church.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party's close links with the religious group were revealed after the killing of former premier Shinzo Abe and have been cited by public opinion poll respondents as a reason behind Kishida's low approval ratings.
Opposition parties have accused Akiba of being involved in violating election laws and having ties with the controversial Unification Church.
"There was not a single thing that I did that breached the law," Akiba told reporters gathered at the prime minister's office after he submitted his resignation to Kishida.
Akiba will be replaced by former Reconstruction Minister Hiromichi Watanabe, Kyodo News reported on Tuesday.
Kishida said Mio Sugita, parliamentary vice-minister for internal affairs, had also submitted her resignation.
In early December, Sugita retracted and apologized for several past comments, including calling sexual minorities "unproductive."
Speculation has mounted that Kishida plans to overhaul his cabinet by early next month, with the Sankei newspaper reporting on Friday that some ruling party members have floated January 10 as a possible date.
(With input from Reuters）
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Copyright © 2023 CGTN. 京ICP备16065310号
Disinformation report hotline: 010-85061466