Japanese Minister of State for Economy and Fiscal Policy Akira Amari yesterday said he was stepping down over graft allegations, dealing a major blow to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who faces a key leadership vote later this year.
“Considering my responsibility as a member of parliament ... my duty as a Cabinet member and pride as a politician, I will resign my post as of today,” the 66-year-old told a packed Tokyo press briefing, choking back tears.
The surprise resignation comes a week after the veteran politician was hit by claims in a weekly magazine that he and his staff had improperly accepted a ¥12 million (US$101,000) bribe from a construction firm.
Amari — also a key face in Abe’s bid to power the economy, dubbed Abenomics — rejected claims he pocketed the money.
He said that envelopes filled with cash had arrived at his office, but added that he ordered his secretary to deal with some of the money according to political donation rules.
Amari said the company refused to accept the return of some of the donations, while his secretary used about ¥3 million for “private use,” without elaborating.
He did not say how much was received in total.
“The economy is now on the verge of getting out of deflation after 15 years,” Amari said.
“We need to enact a package of bills as quickly as we can to bring about a strong economy, and we need to avoid any obstacles to that — I will not be an exception,” he said.
Abe has lost three other ministers to political funding scandals since he swept to power in late 2012.
In 2014, two female ministers resigned over allegations that they had misspent money in what opponents insisted was an attempt to buy votes.
Last year, Koya Nishikawa resigned as farm minister after being accused of accepting illegal political funds.
‘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