Japan’s PM Fumio Kishida says ruling party will cut ties with Unification Church

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said his ruling party will cut ties with the Unification Church following a widening scandal triggered by former leader Shinzo Abe’s assassination last month (Shuji Kajiyama/AP)

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says his ruling party will cut ties with the Unification Church following a widening scandal triggered by former leader Shinzo Abe’s assassination last month.

Widespread cosy ties between members of Mr Kishida’s governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), many of them belonging to Mr Abe’s faction, and the South Korean-born church have surfaced since Mr Abe was fatally shot while giving a campaign speech in July.