TOKYO - Daishiro Yamagiwa, Japan's minister in charge of economic security, became the first minister of Fumio Kishida's government on Monday to step down over his ties with the controversial Unification Church.
Yamagiwa submitted his resignation directly to the Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in a private meeting, reported Nikkei Asia.
The minister's ties with the church have been under intense scrutiny.
After his meeting with Kishida, Yamagiwa told reporters that it was a "last minute" decision to resign as he did not want to be a distraction during current parliamentary sessions and to deflect attention away from the formulation of economic policy during this time of turbulence, reported Nikkei Asia.
"I regret giving credibility to (Unification Church) by attending gatherings, and from now on, I will be careful not to do it again," Yamagiwa said.
Public criticism of the minister had grown as new information surfaced about his ties with the group.
Until last week, he had repeatedly claimed that he did not remember attending the gatherings of the Unification Church. He also claimed that he was unable to dig up details on meetings as he would discard such documents and materials at the end of each year, reported Nikkei Asia. ...continue reading
Source: ANNnewsCH
