Japanʼs Agriculture Minister Taku Eto has resigned after saying he "never buys rice" because he receives it as gifts from supporters. The phrase has outraged the Japanese — rice prices in the country have risen by 92%, the fastest pace since 1971.
Bloomberg writes about this.
Prime Minister Ishiba refused to support Eto after strong criticism from both the ruling and opposition parties. The Constitutional Democratic Party and four other opposition groups agreed to demand Etoʼs resignation and warned that if he refused to step down, they could call a vote of no confidence in him.
Eto resigned just a day after the prime minister backed his desire to stay on. He will be replaced by former environment minister Shinjiro Koizumi. Eto admitted that his comments about rice were “inappropriate”.
“As the rice price issue is now at a critical juncture, I have concluded that it is no longer appropriate for me to remain in a leadership position dealing with this issue,” he said.
The public is outraged because prices are rising, and inflation has been hovering above 3% for several months. Rice prices have risen especially sharply — almost doubling in a year, a record since 1971.
Mizuho Securities chief economist Yasunari Ueno believes that the latest developments could push the opposition to take more active action ahead of elections to the upper house of parliament. Prime Minister Ishibaʼs government has low support and does not have a majority in parliament.
To show his willingness to change, Ishiba appointed reformer Shinjiro Koizumi, the son of a former prime minister, to the agricultural post. He is critical of old policies that he believes served corporate interests more than consumers.
Koizumi could also negotiate with the US on rice imports, which could lower prices. However, this move could be blocked by Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Hiroshi Moriyama, who is linked to the agricultural lobby.
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