A scandal-tainted minister in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet committed suicide yesterday, compounding problems for the Japanese leader whose support has slumped ahead of a July election.
It was the first suicide by a Cabinet minister since the days after Japan's defeat in World War II, officials said.
"This will have serious political fallout, but at this point it's hard to tell how much," a government official said.
PHOTO: AFP
Agriculture, Fisheries and Forests Minister Toshikatsu Matsuoka's suicide came as Abe's public support rate fell to its lowest level since he took office last September, due largely to voter anger over mismanagement of pension premiums.
The dent in Abe's popularity had already increased chances that his ruling camp would lose its majority in the election for parliament's upper house, his first big test at the polls.
Matsuoka was found unconscious in a residence for lawmakers in Tokyo and rushed to a hospital where he died.
PHOTO: AFP
Matsuoka's death will have "a significant impact on this Cabinet, this administration," Abe said.
"As the one who appointed Minister Matsuoka to the post, I feel responsible for the action taken by a Cabinet member," he said.
Abe had earlier looked visibly shaken after seeing Matsuoka's body at the hospital.
"It is extremely unfortunate and I am overwhelmed with regret. I want to pray for the rest of his soul," Abe said. "I had an opportunity to see his face. He had a very peaceful face."
Police declined to comment on reports in the Japanese media, including public broadcaster NHK, that he had left a suicide note and hanged himself.
News reports said the 62-year-old hanged himself while in his pyjamas using a dog leash attached to his living room door.
Matsuoka was embroiled in a scandal involving political funding and bid-rigging. Two committees set up to back his electoral campaigns allegedly received money from a group of businesses which then made bids for public works projects doled out by the government, according to media reports.
Prosecutors last week arrested two senior officials of the government body embroiled in the scandal, which involved contracts for building forest roads in Matsuoka's home district.
Matsuoka, a career agriculture ministry bureaucrat turned politician, had also come under fire for allegedly claiming utility bills of up to ¥29 million (US$240,000) over five years, even though he rented a parliamentary office where utility costs are free. Matsuoka had repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
He was scheduled to appear before a parliamentary committee yesterday afternoon for questioning.
Abe's government was just hit by a fresh scandal last week over the missing pension payment records for more than 50 million people, who have been unable to get the money they are entitled to receive.
Support for the Cabinet has hit its lowest level since Abe took office last year.
Approval of the Cabinet fell to 32 percent, down 11 percentage points from a similar poll last month, according to a survey released yesterday by the Mainichi Shimbun.
A separate poll by the Nikkei Shimbun showed Abe's popularity falling to 41 percent, down 12 percentage points from the previous month.
Both cited dissatisfaction with the government's apparent loss of the pension payment records.
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