The entire leadership of Japan's biggest opposition party resigned yesterday over a scandal surrounding an e-mail falsely accusing a ruling party leader's son of financial links with disgraced Internet company Livedoor.
Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) leader Seiji Maehara and his lieutenants' resignations were the latest blow to the group in the scandal, which has deeply damaged the only credible competitor to the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
"It is my responsibility that the problem was not dealt with immediately," Maehara said following his resignation.
PHOTO: AP
The DPJ issued a public apology earlier this month after it found that allegations made by lawmaker Hisayasu Nagata in Parliament -- in which he alleged financial links between the son of LDP Secretary General Tsutomu Takebe and Livedoor Co. -- were unfounded.
Nagata had backed up his allegations with a purported e-mail from Livedoor president Takafumi Horie ordering a company official to pay Takebe's son. But Nagata later acknowledged he was unable to verify the e-mail's authenticity.
Nagata has expressed his intention to give up his parliamentary seat, Maehara said.
The scandal and the resignation of the DPJ leadership have been harsh on the party, which as recently as a year ago was considered a serious contender for the power held by Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's LDP.
But the party was decimated in elections for the powerful lower house of parliament in September as Koizumi rode a wave of popularity and support for his reform program.
Maehara took charge of the party after the post-election resignation of leader Katsuya Okada, but under his leadership the party was unable to regain its earlier popularity.
Maehara said he hoped his stepping down would set the stage for the party to rebuild.
"I arrived at my decision to take responsibility as the country's largest opposition party, to win back the public's trust and to achieve the party goal of taking over the government in the next election," he said.
Horie and four other Livedoor executives have been under arrest since January on charges of doctoring financial results, artificially inflating stocks and providing false information about earnings of a subsidiary.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese