Japan’s PM sacks his son as aide over ‘inappropriate behaviour’

Move comes amid public outcry over photos of a party the younger Kishida held at the official prime minister’s office in December.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said he will remove his son from his executive secretary position amid growing public outcry over a private party held at his official residence last year.

Kishida told reporters on Monday that his son, Shotaro, would step down as his executive secretary for political affairs for “inappropriate behavior.”

The move came after the weekly Shukan Bunshun magazine published photos showing Kishida’s son and his relatives at the prime minister’s official residence attending a year-end party on Dec. 30.

The photos showed the guests posing on red-carpet steps, an imitation of the group shots of newly appointed cabinets, with the younger Kishida in the center – the position reserved for the prime minister.

Other photos showed guests standing on stage as if they were holding a press conference.

“His behavior in a public place was inappropriate as someone who holds an official position as a political aide. I have decided to replace him for accountability,” Kishida told reporters Monday night.

He said his son will be replaced by another secretary, Takayoshi Yamamoto, on Thursday.

Kishida acknowledged that he briefly greeted the guests, but said he did not stay at the dinner party.

He said he had severely reprimanded his son for the event, but that couldn’t quell continued criticism from opposition lawmakers and public outcry that have pushed his support numbers down.

Seiji Osaka, a senior lawmaker at Japan’s largest opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, said the resignation should have come earlier, the Kyodo news agency reported.

“This is too late. I suspect [Kishida] appointed someone who is not capable [of being the] assistant to the prime minister at the post,” said Osaka.

Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno previously called the son’s party at the official residence “inappropriate” and pledged to ensure proper management of the facility to prevent future abuse.

Formerly the Prime Minister’s office, the nearly 100-year-old building became the living quarters in 2005 when a new office was built.

Kishida appointed his son as policy secretary in October, one of eight secretary posts for the prime minister. The appointment, seen as a move to groom him as his heir, was criticized as nepotism, common in Japanese politics, long dominated by hereditary legislators.

Shotaro Kishida was formerly his father’s private secretary.

It was not the first time that Kishida’s son has come under fire for using his official position for private activities. He was reprimanded for using embassy cars for private sightseeing in Britain and Paris and for buying souvenirs for cabinet members from a luxury department store in London when accompanying his father on travels.

Kishida has also lost four ministers in three months over allegations of financial irregularities or ties to the controversial Unification Church.