After being elected as the new Prime Minister of Japan, Takayuki Higashikata still chose to ignore many people's doubts and opposition, and appointed several legislators who were previously involved in the "black gold scandal".

According to a report by Japan's Kyodo News on the evening of October 22, the new Japanese government decided on the appointment of 54 people, including vice ministers and parliamentary secretaries, at a temporary cabinet meeting on the 22nd. Among them, seven legislators had previously been highly related to the "black gold scandal" of the former Liberal Democratic Party factions. This changed the previous approach of the Abe and Ishiba governments not to appoint legislators involved in the "black gold scandal".

The so-called "black gold scandal" refers to the situation where the "Abe faction" within the Liberal Democratic Party was exposed for deliberately underreporting relevant income in situations such as selling "political fundraising party tickets". If the legislators assigned tasks achieved performance exceeding the sales targets, they would also receive "commissions". The incident severely damaged the support rate and credibility of the Liberal Democratic Party.

When Takayuki Higashikata was elected as the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, he had already stated that those involved in the related scandal would continue to work diligently. In response to the Japanese media and opposition parties' questions, the new Chief Cabinet Secretary, Makoto Kiwada, explained at a press conference on the 22nd: "This is an appropriate personnel arrangement based on the concept of 'everyone participating and uniting the strength of all generations'." He also emphasized that "they have received disciplinary actions within the party and fulfilled their obligation to explain at the political ethics review meeting", so it is not inappropriate to appoint them.

Takayuki Higashikata with newly appointed vice ministers, Kyodo News

The legislators involved in the "black gold scandal" and their positions include: Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Haruhiro Horii; Vice Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Koyuki Nemoto; Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Norimitsu Sasaki and Yohei Sakai; Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Harumi Takahashi; Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Takuji Kobayashi; and Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Ryuusuke Katou. All seven are affiliated with the former "Abe faction".

In addition, observers noted that Takayuki Higashikata himself has long been supported by the late former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe since entering politics, and his political philosophy is highly aligned with that of the latter, including views on strengthening Japan's military power, promoting constitutional amendments, and basic stances on economic issues.

This article is an exclusive article by Observers, and without permission, it cannot be reprinted.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7564208851927466511/

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