Second minister in a week resigns from Japan cabinet
Japan's Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai
Japan's justiceministerstepped down on Thursday - thesecondresignationfromPrimeMinisterShinzo Abe's newly formedcabinetin less than aweek- after a media report that his office gave out gifts such as potatoes and corn to constituents.
JusticeMinisterKatsuyuki Kawai's abrupt resignation came six days after that of former trade and industryminister, Isshu Sugawara, who had been accused of election law violations by allegedly giving gifts of melons and crabs to voters in his Tokyo constituency.
Both men were first-timecabinetministers, but while their resignations may be an embarrassment to Abe justweeks before he becomesJapan's longest-serving primeminister, they are unlikely to cause lasting damage due a lack of strong rivals and a weak opposition, analysts said.
The report inweekly magazine Shukan Bunshun said that in addition to Kawai distributing produce to supporters - including mangoes, usually pricey inJapan- his wife, Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Anri Kawai, had paid campaign staffers more than amounts permitted by law.
Kawai said neither he nor his wive knew anything about the reported allegations and denied breaking any laws, but added that he decided to resign promptly in order to avoid harming the justice system through a loss of public trust.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Abe apologised for thesecondtime in aweek, saying he bore responsibility for appointing the two in acabinetreshuffle last month.
"As the person who appointed him, I bear responsibility for this, for which I apologise to the nation," Abe told reporters shortly after accepting Kawai's resignation.
"I will have to accept the harsh criticism of this situation and work even harder than ever.
Masako Mori, a formerministerin charge of gender equality and measures to combat the declining birthrate, will replace Kawai.
Japan's opposition called the situation "a state of emergency" and said they would pursue the resignations in parliament.
"Resigning automatically because of aweekly magazine report on a matter that is strongly suspicious of illegality is, in a sense, tantamount to admitting it," said Tetsuro Fukuyama, secretary general of the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party ofJapan.
"This should have been a matter worth a general resignation of thecabinetmembers."
But with the opposition in disarray and lacking strength, Abe is likely to survive unscathed as he has done before, analysts said.
In 2014, twoministers quit within hours of each other to quell brewing political funds scandals without damage to Abe.
"He's a Teflon PM who faces weak rivals and has weathered far worse," said Jeff Kingston, director of Asian Studies at Temple University'sJapancampus.