8chan/8kun QRB Posts (1)
#145376 at 2022-08-11 04:34:29 (UTC+1)
QRB General #984: 89 Days Till Midterms But The Ride Never Ends Edition
>>145259, >>145272, >>144282 pb
as already mentioned this will get bigger and bigger'.."new" gov't check...visit by Hussein, Macron and Merkel in a few weeks...check..it remains to be seen how much this is influencing what really goes on there but I'm guessing it does as it's been around (these ties) for a long time..it's the "Moonies" they used to be known as-church
Unification Church ties loom over Kishida's new Cabinet
Lawmakers' ties to the controversial religious group known as the Unification Church will likely continue to cast a shadow over Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's new Cabinet, which was launched Wednesday. With the administration seen facing difficulties sorting out the problem anytime soon, a former Cabinet minister said that public support for the Kishida Cabinet "is unlikely to go up." "Regarding relations with an organization that is believed to be socially problematic, we need to be very careful so as not to arouse suspicion among the public," Kishida told a news conference held Wednesday after the launch of the new Cabinet, referring to the Unification Church. In the selection of ministers for his new Cabinet and new executives of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Kishida focused on whether candidates have any links with the Unification Church.
Before the reshuffle, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara, a close aide to Kishida, was tasked to examine in advance whether candidates for ministerial posts have links with the religious group. Seven ministers before the reshuffle who were found to have had links with the Unification Church, such as receiving election support from or sending a congratulatory telegram to the group, were not allowed to stay in the new Kishida Cabinet. One of those ousted was former defense minister Nobuo Kishi, the younger brother of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was fatally shot last month. But some in the reshuffled Cabinet were also confirmed to have had relations with the group.
Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Minoru Terada, who was given a ministerial post for the first time, was found on Wednesday to have paid a fee of ?20,000 to a meeting of a group affiliated with the Unification Church in 2018. Akihiro Nishimura, the new environment minister, said he had not been aware the church was involved in an event he had previously attended, thinking it was a "conservative forum." Naoki Okada, appointed regional revitalization minister in his first Cabinet posting, said that a local secretary had attended an event of a group related to the church, while Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said that a local secretary of his deputy Seiji Kihara had done the same. Meanwhile, Katsunobu Kato, who returned to his former post as health minister, and Daishiro Yamagiwa, who retained his post as economic revitalization minister, both admitted to having previously paid "membership fees" to organizations affiliated with the church. At Wednesday's news conference, Kishida said that he picked only those who promised to check their ties with the Unification Church and conduct a strict review based on the survey results as members of his new Cabinet. A source related to the LDP said that more party lawmakers will likely be found to have links with the Unification Church.
Koichi Hagiuda, former industry minister, was moved to the pivotal post of LDP policy chief, despite earlier revelations that he had given a speech at an event related to the church. When asked at a news conference Wednesday if he would sever all ties with the group, Hagiuda said, "for our part, we will continue to make a clear distinction (between the party and church)." The latest Cabinet reshuffle was closely watched as Kishida, who took office in early October last year, paved the way for a long administration after leading the LDP to a victory in last month's Upper House election. The controversy over the church, now formally known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, began after Abe's killer told investigators that his mother's donations to the religious group had ruined their family's fortunes and he held a grudge against it.
Kenta Izumi, leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, criticized the reshuffling, calling the new Cabinet lineup a "coverup" for the Unification Church controversy. "Despite (the LDP) saying it would conduct an impartial review, they have not clarified the links between many lawmakers and the church, which does not inspire public trust," Izumi said. Tomihiro Tanaka, head of the church's Japan branch, said at a news conference Wednesday that he would find it "extremely regrettable if involvement with our organization was the criteria" for the Cabinet reshuffling.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/08/11/national/politics-diplomacy/cabinet-unification-church-links/