Japan minister submits resignation in blow for Takaichi Cabinet

Japanese Agriculture Minister Kazuo Yana said he had tendered his resignation following allegations of possible vote-buying, with Kyodo News reporting that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has accepted his resignation.He is the first minister in Takaichi’s government to quit over a scandal.“I apologise for causing such a huge inconvenience to those involved,” Yana said to reporters after submitting his resignation on Oct 14.He said he made the move out of concern for holding up parliament and his ministerial duties.Yana declined to comment on how Takaichi had responded.Kyodo reported Takaichi as saying that she had accepted the resignation to move forward with key policies in the extraordinary Diet session currently underway.Takaichi accepted responsibility for having appointed him, and a new farm minister will be announced on Oct 15, according to Kyodo.The premier had resisted earlier calls to have Yana step down over reports he claimed to have cut roadworks funding to municipalities that did not support him in the general election in February. The tide turned after allegations surfaced that he may also have infringed on Japan’s strict electoral laws by arranging free transportation to an election kick-off rally, a move some media suggested was tantamount to vote-buying. Yana has denied breaking the law, saying that the transportation was arranged as a venue cost and did not constitute a donation.But in recent days Takaichi appeared to be gradually cutting him loose.“If it looks likely there was illegality, and if I come to a conclusion that there may have been unlawfulness or a breach of the law, then I will not hesitate to make a personnel decision,” Takaichi said in parliament on the morning of Oct 14.“I myself cannot say with certainty at this point that it was illegal,” she added.The prime minister has appeared keen to ensure her cabinet does not succumb to the kind of sequence of cabinet resignations that has plagued her predecessors.Her administration continues to receive relatively high public support and it is not clear whether Yana’s exit would reflect badly on her.The latest opinion poll by national broadcaster NHK puts her public support at 51%, a fraction down from September, but still above recent premiers.To date, Takaichi’s cabinet has withstood reports of scandal. In March, a tabloid reported that then-Education Minister Yohei Matsumoto had an extramarital affair and had met his mistress at his office.Takaichi defended Matsumoto, and he continued in his role until September, when Takaichi reshuffled her cabinet. Tabloids have also alleged that Economic Security Minister Kimi Onoda and Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama circumvented election rules, but those allegations have not made waves in the same way the reports concerning Yana have.It remains to be seen if Yana’s resignation will be viewed by the public as an isolated case that Takaichi responded to swiftly and appropriately or if it will have a domino effect that unsettles her cabinet.Either way, the allegations involving election campaign tactics and threats of retribution could pose a headwind for Takaichi’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party ahead of next spring’s local elections, when voters will choose local leaders and council members.While it was the allegations of vote-buying that made Yana indefensible, the reports that Yana had claimed to single out certain localities in his district that had not given him sufficient support for a February election and cut their road infrastructure funding could have been what hit a nerve for rural areas that have long been a stronghold of support for the ruling party.One of the localities allegedly targeted by Yana passed a motion on Oct 14 strongly criticising his comments, saying that road funding is crucial in responding to natural disasters and protecting the lives of local residents.In a change of tune from last week when she said she wanted to see Yana stay on in her cabinet, Takaichi described his comments on cutting funding as “really uncool” on Oct 13, in one of the first signs she was distancing herself from the embattled minister.Yana retracted his comments about the road funding and apologised.“It was very inappropriate and I am deeply remorseful,” he told reporters last week. He denied that he had urged the Infrastructure Ministry to cut funding to the localities.An official at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said at a press conference on Oct 13 that there had been no pressure from Yana over budget allocations. BLOOMBERG