Who is responsible for the defense scandals?

How Ishiba might use defense policy against Kishida

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When we last heard from Ishiba Shigeru about his intentions for the Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) leadership election, he had indicated that he would decide whether to run in mid-August, following the Obon holidays.

However, Ishiba has in the meantime continued to position himself for a possible leadership bid. His latest remarks certainly sound like a direct challenge to Prime Minister Kishida Fumio.

From NHK:

Appearing on the Radio Japan program “Iwase Keiko’s SMART News” on the morning of 17 July, former Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) secretary-general Ishiba Shigeru said regarding the current scandals in the Ministry of Defense and Self-Defense Forces (SDF), “I served as both Minister of Defense and Director-General of the Japan Defense Agency, and responsibility should be borne by politicians.

Moreover, when asked who should bear the responsibility, he said, “We are talking about the prime minister or the defense minister, but it is up to the parties concerned to decide when and in what form.”

He obviously softened his charge by suggesting that he could also be talking about the defense minister and it would be up to the “parties concerned” to decide how to take responsibility, but it is hard not to read this as Ishiba sharpening his critique of the prime minister ahead of a direct challenge.