<figure id="attachment_261813" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1024px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-261813"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="209204f7"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/08/2022082410274.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-261813" class="wp-caption-text">Prime Minister Fumio Kishida holds an online press conference from the Prime Minister&#8217;s Office due to the new corona infection. The mysterious style of reporters surrounding the display also attracted attention&#8230; Photo: Kyodo News</figcaption></figure>
The Cabinet&#8217;s approval rating is reportedly plummeting: according to an August 27-28 Asahi Shimbun survey, the Cabinet&#8217;s approval rating was &#8220;47%,&#8221; a significant drop from 57% in the previous July survey.
On August 25, Tadasu Nakamura, Commissioner General of the National Police Agency, and Tomoaki Onizuka, the head of the Nara Prefectural Police, announced their resignations due to their responsibility for the shooting incident involving former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and will resign on August 30. Commissioner Nakamura served as Chief Cabinet Secretary during the Abe administration from &#8217;09 to &#8217;15, when Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide was in office. His unusually long tenure and &#8220;intense&#8221; relationship with political power were well known.
Later, during Nakamura&#8217;s tenure as chief of the Metropolitan Police Department&#8217;s Criminal Investigation Department, it was reported that he did not execute an arrest warrant for a female journalist who complained of sexual abuse she had suffered from former TBS reporter Yamaguchi Takayuki, who was close to former Prime Minister Abe. The case was later found to be sexually violent in a civil court. In his resignation, the police careerist said with a note of self-recrimination.
 The police got too close to the SC. It is not only the case of sexual violence. I heard that police information was used in the resignation of Kihei Maekawa, former vice minister of education. The police are in a state that can be said to be at the beck and call of the Abe administration. And now former Prime Minister Abe has been gunned down because of police inadequacies. It is ironic. The police have been on the hook while the former Unification Church issue, triggered by the shooting, continues. To put it bluntly. &#8230;in any way, shape or form. I just pray that this clamor will be settled as soon as possible.&#8221;
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He added, &#8220;It will take three to five months for the suspect Tetsuya Yamagami to be detained for evaluation,&#8221; but said that the completion of the new police rules and regulations has brought closure to the situation.
Prime Minister Kishida is probably just as eager or more so to quickly put an end to the ever-expanding Unification Church issue. However, it is unlikely that the issue will be settled so easily. Prime Minister Kishida, who has been online since contracting the new strain of corona, has been suffering from a cough, a slight fever, and a headache, a person close to the prime minister said. A person close to the prime minister said, &#8220;Kishida&#8217;s office was in charge of the Unification Church.
 A source close to the prime minister said, &#8220;There is no indication that the Unification Church was involved in the election at Kishida&#8217;s office. Naturally, there is no human support whatsoever. As for sending congratulatory telegrams and flowers, I feel that former Secretary General Toshihiro Nikai did the right thing. Politicians are more than welcome to help out with handouts. It would be much better for a new candidate. But as expected, I think they will have to hurry up and make rules for cooperators in office.&#8221;
The Unification Church members&#8217; &#8220;help in the election&#8221; was, in fact, welcomed by some Diet members. One former member of the Diet said, &#8220;Since that time, there have been believers in the Diet building.
 There have been believers in the Diet building since those days. Since the help was free of labor costs, many teachers found it very useful. That&#8217;s right, they were very helpful, because it was free. Some started with simple tasks such as enclosing flyers, and then moved on to customer service and more in-depth &#8220;help. I remember that many of them were elegant and beautiful women.
<h2>One after another, the &#8220;relationship&#8221; was revealed.</h2>
 The relationship between Kōichi Hagiuda, the political chief, and the former Fusion Church was so thick that it was pitch black in everyone&#8217;s eyes. I thought this was bad, but Minister of Economy, Trade, and Revitalization Yamashii Daishiro is even worse. Watching his press conference, I was surprised by his slovenly response, which I would not expect from a politician. Furthermore, I was surprised to the point of being cowed when journalist Aito Suzuki said on TV, &#8220;I wonder if a cult member is working in Minister Yamagai&#8217;s office as his secretary. If true, this would be a personnel problem. What in the world is going on inside the party?
The second Kishida cabinet promised that he would not be allowed to join the cabinet unless he severed ties with the former Unification Church. Even if he declares that he will sever ties in the future, how will he make out if his office staff are members of the church? Nothing can dispel the doubts, and the problem continues to linger.
Even Prime Minister Kishida, who claims to have no ties to the Unification Church, was photographed with a senior official of the cult&#8217;s Hiroshima parish. Prime Minister Kishida&#8217;s supporters&#8217; group, the Kumamoto Kishida-kai, has also been reported to be in contact with the president of Sojo University, Mineo Nakayama, and his &#8220;relationship&#8221; with the church has been revealed one after another.
The prime minister insists, &#8220;As far as I know, there is no relationship,&#8221; but when a two-shot photo was leaked, the chairman of the supporters&#8217; association admitted the fact and apologized flatly. But the prime minister is trying to get away with saying, &#8220;I don&#8217;t know what I don&#8217;t know. A former cabinet member said, &#8220;Abe and Kan&#8217;s politics have led to the economic crisis.
 The Abe-Suga administration has failed to revive the economy, and the fiscal situation has only worsened. That is why I supported Prime Minister Kishida in the presidential election. However, he has not done anything of note in the past year, and he has not been able to draw a satisfactory line on the issue of the former Unification Church as a leader. I did not expect such a mess.
 The cost of Abe&#8217;s state funeral is reported to be 250 million yen, but this does not include the expenses for foreign dignitaries and security around the venue. Here again, the Kishida administration is hiding something. The ability to execute, the political power, and everything else is disappointing.
<h2>Well, something has to be done.</h2>
The person mentioned above said he spoke to Prime Minister Kishida by phone after he contracted corona. He advised that the problem of the former Unification Church would become even more serious, and stressed the need for the government to send a clear message. On the other end of the phone, Prime Minister Kishida was said to have repeatedly coughed and sighed lightly. Prime Minister Kishida said on the phone.
 I&#8217;m fine because I&#8217;ve been vaccinated. I am glad it was milder than I thought. We must hurry up with the vaccine for Omicron.
 The Unification Church&#8230;hmmm&#8230;we have to do something about it. But, I never thought I&#8217;d volunteer to help out with an election campaign.
He replied &#8220;carefree&#8221;.
According to the aforementioned police bureaucrat, &#8220;the campaign of the former Unification Church is an honor student of the Public Election Law. The legal system makes it extremely difficult to separate politics from the church&#8217;s election campaign. Prime Minister Kishida seems to be at a loss for a breakthrough on this Unification Church issue as well.
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The question of whether the country can be left to the Kishida administration to steer the ship only grows stronger every day. The decline in his approval rating is a clear indication of this.

 Shutaro Iwashiro

 Kyodo News

 According to a survey conducted by the Asahi Shimbun newspaper on August 27 and 28, the Cabinet's approval rating was "47%," a significant drop from 57% in the previous July survey. On August 25, Tadasu Nakamura, Commissioner General of the National Police Agency, and Nara Prefectural Police Chief Tomoaki Onizuka

Prime Minister Kishida’s Take on the Unification Church Issue and His Plummeting Approval Ratings

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