LDP lawmaker to quit as parliamentary committee chief over Noto quake gaffe
According to a senior official of the ruling LDP, Tsuruho is poised to step down from the post of chairman of the Budget Committee in the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of parliament, following criticisms of the verbal blunder from both the ruling and opposition sides as well as by people affected by the Jan. 1, 2024, temblor.
Tsuruho has already submitted a letter of resignation as Budget Committee chairman to Upper House President Masakazu Sekiguchi, the senior party official said.
Tsuruho said in the city of Wakayama on Tuesday, during a campaign speech for an LDP candidate in the July 20 Upper House election, that "it was lucky that the earthquake occurred in Noto."
The remark came as Tsuruho expressed hopes that the temblor would facilitate dual residency, or a lifestyle in which people have two bases of living — one typically in an urban area and the other in a rural location.
Tsuruho withdrew the remark and apologized later Tuesday, saying that he lacked consideration for the disaster victims.
He offered an apology again at a news conference Wednesday, and LDP Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama gave him a stern warning. But the criticisms did not subside.
Tsuruho is believed to have decided on his resignation to reduce the adverse impact on the LDP in the upcoming election.
On Saturday, Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, renewed his criticism of Tsuruho, stating, "I have kept saying that (the remark in question) was beyond a slip of the tongue."
Tsuruho "has finally made up his mind," Noda told reporters in the city of Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture. "It is natural for him to quit."
Also on Saturday, the Ishikawa prefectural chapters of the CDP and two other opposition parties, the Social Democratic Party and the Democratic Party for the people, sent a letter to Prime Minister and LDP President Shigeru Ishiba, in which they accused Tsuruho's gaffe and sought a severe punishment against him.
On Friday, the assemblies of four municipalities on the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture sent a letter of protest to Tsuruho over the controversial remark. The letter demanded that he step down from "a key post."
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