Move marks a reversal for Fumio Kishida who was reluctant to scrutinise Moonies’ connections with his own lawmakers

Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, has ordered an investigation into the Unification church as he attempts to revive his political fortunes amid a scandal linking his party to the religious group.

Kishida had initially been reluctant to increase scrutiny of the church – whose members are colloquially known as Moonies – but on Monday his education minister, Keiko Nagaoka, said the probe would begin “immediately”. Depending on the outcome, the church could lose its tax-exempt status, media reports said.

Protester sustains widespread burns as Japan wrestles with legacy of leader whose death revealed scale of politicians’ links to Unification church

A man has set himself alight near the Japanese prime minister’s office, apparently in protest against next week’s state funeral for the country’s former prime minister, Shinzo Abe.

The man, who has not been named, was initially unconscious and sustained burns over his entire body after the incident in Tokyo on Wednesday morning, less than a week before the controversial send-off for Abe, who was shot dead in July.