Japan's agriculture minister resigned yesterday over misuse of farm subsidies, the fourth minister driven from office by scandal since Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took power a year ago.
Takehiko Endo quit just a week after being appointed to the Cabinet in a reshuffle aimed at regaining public support following a humiliating electoral defeat.
"The series of media reports has made the people lose their trust in politics," Endo told reporters, acknowledging "inappropriate" conduct. "Again, I apologize for not having been able to achieve anything."
Endo's departure, orchestrated by ruling party bigwigs after the scandal broke over the weekend, was a bitter strike against Abe, who is struggling to keep power after losing control of the upper house of parliament to the opposition in July 29 elections.
"It's extremely unfortunate that this was the result after having given careful consideration as to who was the most appropriate person for the position," Abe said.
Endo, Abe's third agriculture minister in the past four months, admitted on Saturday that a farm cooperative he headed had received government subsidies by exaggerating weather damage to the 1999 grape harvest.
Abe said he took responsibility for appointing Endo. But his top lieutenant, Chief Cabinet Secretary Kaoru Yosano, defended the government, saying it had gone through an especially strict selection process for Cabinet members.
"We checked all the documents that we could obtain," Yosano said. "But we can't know everything."
Yosano said Masatoshi Wakabayashi, a former environment minister, would replace Endo.
Another high-ranking bureaucrat, Vice Foreign Minister Yukiko Sakamoto, also stepped down yesterday after acknowledging that her support group faked funding reports in 2004 to 2005.
The Taiwanese passport ranked 33rd in a global listing of passports by convenience this month, rising three places from last month’s ranking, but matching its position in January last year. The Henley Passport Index, an international ranking of passports by the number of designations its holder can travel to without a visa, showed that the Taiwan passport enables holders to travel to 139 countries and territories without a visa. Singapore’s passport was ranked the most powerful with visa-free access to 192 destinations out of 227, according to the index published on Tuesday by UK-based migration investment consultancy firm Henley and Partners. Japan’s and
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
Japan and the Philippines yesterday signed a defense pact that would allow the tax-free provision of ammunition, fuel, food and other necessities when their forces stage joint training to boost deterrence against China’s growing aggression in the region and to bolster their preparation for natural disasters. Japan has faced increasing political, trade and security tensions with China, which was angered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would be a survival-threatening situation for Japan, triggering a military response. Japan and the Philippines have also had separate territorial conflicts with Beijing in the East and South China
A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C, it said. Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said. However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said. Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently
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