Koichi Hagiuda, a high-ranking LDP official who oversees the government’s budget plans for the coming year, is due to shortly resign, public broadcaster NHK reported. Kishida is also considering whether to shelve a planned trip to Brazil and Chile next month, the Mainichi newspaper said.
While the prosecutors’ probe centres on lawmakers from the ruling party’s powerful “Abe faction”, investigators are also looking into whether Kishida’s faction – which he headed until last week – is also involved, according to media reports.
Political analysts say this could further knock public support for Kishida’s administration, which polls show has slumped to a record low of around 23 per cent in recent days, the lowest since he came to office in late 2021.
Support for Kishida’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has also fallen below 30 per cent for the first time since 2012, when it returned to power after a blip in its near total post-war dominance of Japanese politics, an NHK survey on Tuesday showed.
Kishida does not need to call an election until October 2025 at the latest, and a fractured and weak opposition has historically struggled to make sustained inroads into the LDP’s dominance.
The LDP is due to hold leadership elections in September, but analysts say it remains to be seen how long Kishida can hold on to his post.