Justice Minister Ryuji Koizumi decided to leave the Nikai faction in the ruling party after prosecutors searched the group's office for suspected unreported funds. The Nikai faction is believed to have failed to report about 100 million yen from sales of tickets to its fund-raising parties, while the Abe faction is suspected of accumulating 500 million yen in a similar manner without reporting it. Koizumi plans to continue his duties as a Cabinet minister, despite criticism and calls for his resignation from opposition lawmakers. Additionally, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has made changes in party leadership, appointing former education minister Kisaburo Tokai as chairman of the party’s Policy Research Council, and former Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada as chairman of the LDP’s Diet Affairs Committee.