Japan’s transport minister resigned yesterday after a string of gaffes, dealing a major blow to Prime Minister Taro Aso who took office barely a week ago.
The resignation of Nariaki Nakayama marked a rocky start for Aso, who took office on Wednesday with the lowest public support of any newly appointed prime minister in eight years.
The latest newspaper polls showed his approval rating at just below 50 percent.
“I handed my resignation to the prime minister and he accepted,” Nakayama told a news conference.
Nakayama said if he had stayed on, the opposition would have wasted time in parliament questioning him about his recent mistakes in an effort to derail economic discussions. Aso is to give a major policy speech there today.
The resignation follows remarks by Nakayama on Saturday when he called Japan’s largest teachers’ union “a cancer,” the Asahi Shimbun and Yomiuri Shimbun said. He also said the Japan Teachers Union should be abolished.
The 320,000-strong union has demanded an apology and a retraction of his comments.
“We are totally flabbergasted by his comments. We questioned his judgment,” union secretary-general, Yasunaga Okamoto said.
Nakayama’s resignation drew criticism even from within Aso’s Cabinet.
“It will give an impression that the new government is already in disarray,” Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa told reporters.
Health Minister Yoichi Masuzoe said it was not “a plus” for the fledgling administration.
Japan’s largest opposition, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), said Aso was to blame for the scandal because he appointed Nakayama as a minister.
“It is a matter of course that he resigned. Aso also has grave responsibility” for bringing Nakayama into the Cabinet, Ichiro Ozawa, the leader of the DPJ, told reporters in Shiga.
His comments were broadcast on TV news channels.
Aside from lashing at the union, Nakayama said last week that Japan is “ethnically homogenous,” drawing criticism from the Ainu, Aborigines in northern Japan.
Also See: Junichiro Koizumi announces he will retire from politics
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday lavished US President Donald Trump with praise and vows of a “golden age” of ties on his visit to Tokyo, before inking a deal with Washington aimed at securing critical minerals. Takaichi — Japan’s first female prime minister — pulled out all the stops for Trump in her opening test on the international stage and even announced that she would nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize, the White House said. Trump has become increasingly focused on the Nobel since his return to power in January and claims to have ended several conflicts around the world,
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
REASSURANCE: The US said Taiwan’s interests would not be harmed during the talk and that it remains steadfast in its support for the nation, the foreign minister said US President Donald Trump on Friday said he would bring up Taiwan with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) during a meeting on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in South Korea this week. “I will be talking about Taiwan [with Xi],” Trump told reporters before he departed for his trip to Asia, adding that he had “a lot of respect for Taiwan.” “We have a lot to talk about with President Xi, and he has a lot to talk about with us. I think we’ll have a good meeting,” Trump said. Taiwan has long been a contentious issue between the US and China.
GLOBAL PROJECT: Underseas cables ‘are the nervous system of democratic connectivity,’ which is under stress, Member of the European Parliament Rihards Kols said The government yesterday launched an initiative to promote global cooperation on improved security of undersea cables, following reported disruptions of such cables near Taiwan and around the world. The Management Initiative on International Undersea Cables aims to “bring together stakeholders, align standards, promote best practices and turn shared concerns into beneficial cooperation,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said at a seminar in Taipei. The project would be known as “RISK,” an acronym for risk mitigation, information sharing, systemic reform and knowledge building, he said at the seminar, titled “Taiwan-Europe Subsea Cable Security Cooperation Forum.” Taiwan sits at a vital junction on
RSS