Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced on Monday that his son is resigning from his position as executive policy secretary to accept responsibility for using the prime minister's residence for a private party.
Shotaro Kishida, his father's executive secretary for political affairs and eldest son, invited a group of people, including relatives, to the Prime Minister's Official Residence on December 30 for a year-end gathering.
Japan PM Kishida Orders Son to Quit Over 'Inappropriate Behavior
Photos published by the weekly Shukan Bunshun magazine depicted Kishida's son and his relatives posing on red-carpeted stairs in imitation of the group photos taken of newly appointed Cabinets, with the junior Kishida occupying the prime ministerial position.
Other photographs depicted visitors at a podium, as if they were conducting a news conference, as per NBC News. Kishida admitted that he briefly greeted the guests, but stated that he did not stay for the dinner celebration.
Fumio Kishida stated that he had harshly reprimanded his son for his participation in the party, but that was insufficient to quell the ongoing criticism from opposition legislators and public outrage that have lowered his approval ratings.
In October, Kishida appointed his son to one of the eight secretary positions held by the prime minister as policy secretary. The appointment was criticized as nepotism, which is prevalent in Japanese politics, which has been dominated for decades by hereditary legislators. His son was formerly his father's personal assistant.
Other photographs depicted visitors at a podium, as if they were conducting a news conference, according to The Independent.
The photos, which were published on 24 May, have been widely criticized and are a major humiliation for the prime minister, whose flagging approval ratings had been temporarily bolstered by the positive response to his hosting of the recent G7 summit.
Fumio Kishida initially responded by stating that he had severely reprimanded his son for the gathering, but this did little to quell public outrage.
The prime minister announced in a statement on Tuesday that his son would be succeeded in his official position by Takayoshi Yamamoto on June 1. Three-quarters of respondents in a survey conducted by the Japanese newspaper Asahi viewed the behavior of the prime minister's son as problematic.
A separate poll conducted by Nikkei revealed the prime minister's approval rating had dropped by five percentage points to 47%.
The opposition accused Fumio Kishida of nurturing his son to be his successor, drawing criticism for the appointment itself. The dispute over the Tokyo party was not the first time that the 32-year-old Kishida's behavior caused his father a political headache.
Earlier, Shotaro Kishida was accused of abusing his official position after he was observed using embassy vehicles for private sightseeing in Britain and Paris and purchasing souvenirs for cabinet members at a luxury department store in London while on a trip with his father.
Hirokazu Matsuno, the chief cabinet secretary, deemed the son's gathering at the official residence "inappropriate" and vowed to ensure future proper administration of the facility.
Nobuyuki Baba, the leader of the opposition Japan Innovation Party, said that the prime minister's son "should have been cognizant of his position."
A Setback to Japan's Prime Minister
Shotaro Kishida's resignation is a setback to his father, whose approval ratings improved promptly after this month's G7 summit in Hiroshima and a purported assassination attempt during a campaign stop this month.
In 2005, when a new office was constructed, the nearly 100-year-old building that had previously operated as the prime minister's office was converted into living accommodations.
Per Guardian, Shotaro, 32, it has not been the first time has been criticized for exploiting his official position. In January, while accompanying his father, he was reprimanded for using embassy vehicles for private sightseeing excursions in Britain and Paris and for souvenir shopping at a luxury department store in London.
Shotaro began working for his father in March 2020, after quitting his position at a trading firm, with Kishida insisting that he did so because of his son's "personality and insight."
The scandal could dampen rumors that Kishida is planning to convene a sudden lower house election following generally positive reviews of his performance at the G7 summit in Hiroshima, highlighted by the personal appearance of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky at the summit.
