TOKYO: Japan’s farm minister faces mounting pressure to quit over a series of incidents, as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi battles to keep her cabinet free of scandal-related resignations.
So far, the premier has resisted calls to have Agriculture Minister Kazuo Yana (pic) step down after local media reports that he claimed to have cut roadworks funding to municipalities that didn’t support him in February’s general election.
In the latest incident, reports say Yana arranged to have buses drive people to an election kickoff rally. That may infringe on Japan’s strict electoral legislation if deemed as a vote-buying move.
Yana has denied breaking the law, saying that the transportation was arranged as a venue cost and did not constitute a donation.
A possible infringement of the law may make his position in the cabinet more difficult to defend. The prime minister has said she hopes to meet with Yana on Wednesday (Oct 14) to discuss the issue.
"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 in the morning.
Her comments suggest that kicking Yana out of the cabinet is not off the cards while also buying time to quibble over the legal fine print of what happened.
"I myself cannot say with certainty at this point that it was illegal,” Takaichi added.
The prime minister’s meeting with Yana is likely to come after a parliamentary session where opposition lawmakers are expected to grill Takaichi and the minister over the allegations.
If Yana were to resign, he would become the first minister to step down over a scandal in Takaichi’s year-old government. Her administration continues to receive relatively high public support and it isn’t clear whether Yana’s exit would reflect badly on her.
The latest opinion poll by national broadcaster NHK puts her public support at 51 per cent, a fraction down from last month, but still above her recent predecessors.
Still, keeping Yana in the cabinet could also 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.
The allegations that Yana could have breached election laws follow reports that Yana had made claims of cutting road funding for localities that didn’t support him in a February election.
In a sign she may be distancing herself from the embattled cabinet member, Takaichi on Tuesday described his comments on the funding as "really uncool,” in a change of tune from last week when she said she wanted to see Yana stay on in her cabinet.
Yana has retracted his comments about the 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. - Bloomberg
