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South China Morning Post
21-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Can Japan's Ishiba weather political storm after rice remark buries farm minister?
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba accepted the resignation of his agriculture minister on Wednesday over a tone-deaf remark about rice donations – a political blunder that analysts say could further erode public trust in his leadership ahead of two make-or-break elections this summer. Taku Eto stepped down less than 24 hours after Ishiba insisted he would not dismiss him, following public outcry over comments in which the minister boasted that he never needed to buy rice because supporters regularly sent him sacks of it. The gaffe , made during a speech in Saga city on Sunday, drew fierce criticism at a time when Japanese households are grappling with rice shortages and soaring prices. Critics said the remark illustrated how out of touch the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) had become, as families across the country ration a staple many now find increasingly unaffordable Japanese agriculture minister Taku Eto enters Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's office in Tokyo on Wednesday to tender his resignation. Photo: Kyodo The resignation adds to a string of political headaches for Ishiba, whose approval rating is tumbling amid economic anxiety, diplomatic tensions and growing divisions within his own party.
Japan Times
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
Ishiba to dismiss Agriculture Minister Taku Eto
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has decided to dismiss agriculture minister Taku Eto over his recent gaffe regarding rice, according to people familiar with the matter. Eto, 64, is likely to become the first cabinet minister to be dismissed since Ishiba took office in October last year. During a speech in Saga on Sunday, Eto said that he never bought rice as he receives so much of the staple from his supporters that he could sell it. This drew criticism from both ruling and opposition lawmakers. On Monday, Ishiba reprimanded Eto over the remarks, while expressing his intention to keep the agriculture minister in his post. On Tuesday, however, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and four other opposition parties agreed to demand the dismissal or resignation of Eto and consider submitting a no-confidence motion against him. Ishiba changed his mind, given that a no-confidence motion, if introduced, could pass as he leads a minority government, people familiar with the matter said. He also apparently wants to limit the impact of Eto's remarks about rice — which has been of great interest to the public — before an election for the House of Councillors, Japan's upper chamber of parliament, which takes place this summer. Eto, who was elected eight times to the House of Representatives, the lower chamber, became agriculture minister in November 2024. Among other ministers in the Ishiba cabinet, Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki was reprimanded earlier this year by the prime minister for distributing mooncakes to ministry staff. Ishiba himself has been criticized for distributing gift certificates worth ¥100,000 per person during a meeting with new lawmakers of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party at the prime minister's official residence.
