Political Funding Scandal Plagues Japan's Ruling Party

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's approval ratings plummet as prosecutors investigate allegations of undeclared fundraising proceeds.

Japanese prosecutors have raided the offices of Japan’s governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) amid a political funding scandal, investigating allegations that party officials failed to declare a combined 600 million yen ($4.18m) in fundraising proceeds.
The scandal has sent Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s approval ratings to some of the lowest levels in the country’s post-war history, with 79% of respondents in a recent poll disapproving of the government.
Kishida has already reshuffled his cabinet twice in an effort to stem the fallout, but these measures have done little to boost his approval ratings.
The largest faction of the LDP, once led by late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, is facing possible collapse due to the scandal, with a wave of frustration and panic sweeping across its members.
Prosecutors are attempting to build cases against accountants from the factions, alleging the groups failed to declare hundreds of millions of yen of fundraising party revenue in political funding reports.