Pm Kishida Defends Appointing Ex - Minister To Lead Ldp's Covid Panel
Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has defended the appointment of a recently resigned Cabinet minister as head of his Liberal Democratic Party's coronavirus response panel.
Kishida attended a Lower House heath committee session on Friday and responded to criticism from an opposition party about the appointment of Yamagiwa Daishiro as head of the panel.
Yamagiwa stepped down as economic revitalization minister last month due to his ties with the controversial religious group previously called the Unification Church. He also doubled as the minister in charge of coronavirus measures.
The opposition Constitutional Democratic Party said Yamagiwa was unsuited to the role as head of the panel, pointing to his repeated insistences that he could not recall any interactions with the religious group. The party said those in charge of responding to the pandemic must be on high alert, or they would risk a worst-case outcome for the country.
The party accused the LDP of making light of the situation and demanded the appointment be retracted.
Kishida, who is the LDP president, said he is not in a position to speak about the party's personnel affairs.
But he indicated the party had thoroughly deliberated over the appointment, taking into consideration Yamagiwa's background and experience.
Kishida said he agreed that the country's coronavirus response requires alertness and said the government and the ruling coalition would stay focused.