Kishida disapproval rate edges above 40% on church ties, Abe funeral

FILE PHOTO: Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delivers a speech at his official residence in Tokyo, Japan July 14, 2022. Xinhua/Zhang Xiaoyu/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

TOKYO (Reuters) - Disapproval of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's cabinet edged above 40% for the first time, propelled by doubts over whether his ruling party would ever be free of ties to the Unification Church, according to a public opinion poll.

Revelations of long-running links to the church founded in South Korea in the 1950s and famous for its mass weddings have become a problem for Kishida since July 8, when former prime minister Shinzo Abe was shot and his suspected killer said his mother was bankrupted by the church and blamed Abe for promoting it.