Opinion: Inada resignation adds to Abe's woes

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By Pang Zhongpeng in China Daily

Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada resigned on Friday to account for a scandal involving the cover-up of logs that recorded the daily activities of Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force troops serving as U.N. peacekeepers in South Sudan.

Once as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's protege and a shining female member of the Cabinet, Inada's resignation came days before her one year in office.

Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida will now hold the additional charge of the defense portfolio until a new defense minister is appointed.

Ostensibly, Inada's involvement in the "cover-up" of the Self-Defense Force's operations a year ago in South Sudan, ended her career.

The descriptions in the controversial logs would have certainly seen the Japanese troops withdrawn from the area in South Sudan as the troops could have become caught up in fighting there, which would not only endanger their lives, but also contravene the nation's pacifist constitution.

When Japan did finally pull its GSDF troops from the U.N. mission at the end of May this year, it said it was because the troops' activities had produced notable results during their five-year placement.

The daily activity logs suggest combat between government and rebel forces in South Sudan in July 2016.

If confirmed, the documents could put a big question mark on the legitimacy of Japan's overseas peacekeeping operations.

The Japanese Defense Ministry had said late last year that the data had been deleted, but it released part of the information which was found on a computer in February.

Inada's recent missteps occurred in the lead-up to the Tokyo metropolitan election held on July 2. She came under fire for rallying support for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, a move seen as the politicization of the Ground Self-Defense Force and a violation of Japan's Self-Defense Forces Act.

Not surprisingly, her gaff dealt a blow to the LDP, which won only 23 seats in the 127-member chamber, an all-time low.

Although not unanticipated, Inada's resignation has added to the political woes of Prime Minister Abe amid a string of political scandals and plummeting support rate, which has fallen below 30 percent in some polls, the lowest since he returned to power in 2012.

Since the end of the Cold War, his predecessors with less than 30 percent popular support have all ended up stepping down within a year.

Abe's personal rapport with Inada, an outspoken political hawk, could no longer save her because his own career is in trouble. Alleged favoritism linked to a friend's business and flawed disclaimers in the face of solid evidence have undermined public trust in him and his administration.

Protesters chant "Resign Prime Minister Abe!" during a speech of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for his candidate Aya Nakamura in Akihabara, Tokyo, Japan, July 1, 2017. /VCG Photo‍

So Abe is making desperate efforts to prevent his approval rating, which is still above the "deadly" single-digit level, from dipping further if he wants to seek a third three-year term next year as Japan's top leader until 2021.

And the reshuffle of the Cabinet and LDP leadership this week is very important for Abe to regain public support.

Of all the changes, the posts for Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, and LDP heavyweight and former defense minister Shigeru Ishibaalso the front-runners for the LDP leadership－will be closely watched. Ishiba, who left the Cabinet to work out a strategy to replace Abe when the latter's term as LDP president expires in 2018, remains an unknown element.

But no matter who gets ahead in the LDP leadership race, there is a risk that Abe will be forced to step aside by his party rivals if his support rate drops to a level that threatens the LDP's legitimacy to rule.

(The author is an associate researcher at the Japan Studies Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The article reflects the author's opinion, not necessarily the view of CGTN.)

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