TOKYO - Japan’s beleaguered Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, feeling the heat over a deepening political fund-raising scandal, removed 13 politicians from government and party leadership posts on Dec 14 in a purge that analysts believe will do little to revive his tanking fortunes.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, 61, the second top-ranked official in government, and Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, 61, got the axe, alongside two other ministers, five deputy ministers and one parliamentary vice-minister. Three senior ruling party executives also left their posts.
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