"Death Penalty Stamp" and "Never Bought Rice": Japanese Ministers Toppled by Slip of the Tongue

The forced exits of cabinet ministers in Japanese politics due to inappropriate remarks and gaffes are repeating.

According to outlets like the Yomiuri Shimbun on October 15, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Kazuo Yana was dismissed the previous day, just 28 days into taking office, following remarks about cutting regional budgets and allegations of violating the Public Offices Election Act.

Yana had faced intense pressure to resign from both the opposition and ruling parties after allegations surfaced that he had cut road budgets for local governments that did not support him, along with suspicions of illegally paying campaign workers.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi accepted Yana's resignation in a form of de facto dismissal to prevent a parliamentary deadlock, stating that she "takes the responsibility for his appointment seriously."

This is not the first time in Japan that inappropriate remarks and gaffes by ministers have led to mid-term resignations.

In May of last year, then-Agriculture Minister Taku Eto was dismissed after triggering public outrage during a Liberal Democratic Party fundraising event by saying, "I have never bought rice. Supporters give me so much that I have enough to sell."

At a time when public hardship was mounting due to soaring rice prices, the head of the competent ministry added fuel to the fire regarding public sentiment.

In August 2023, then-Agriculture Minister Tetsuro Nomura referred to the treated water released into the ocean from Tokyo Electric Power Company's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station as "contaminated water," sparking strong backlash primarily among Fukushima residents, and ultimately had to step down in the cabinet reshuffle the following month.

The Japanese government officially uses the term "treated water" for the purified water from the Fukushima nuclear plant to minimize the negative image it casts on the region and its agricultural and fishery products.

Earlier in November 2022, Justice Minister Yasuhiro Hanashi was dismissed after facing criticism for making light of the solemn duty of executing the death penalty by remarking, "The Justice minister is an unglamorous post that only gets attention when stamping the death penalty approval in the morning and barely making the midday news headlines."

Also in April 2019, then-Minister for the Olympics Yoshitaka Sakurada was dismissed after the controversy grew over comments suggesting a specific politician was more important than the recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake, stating, "Takahashi is more important than disaster recovery."

Takahashi is former Lwiberal Democratic Party lawmaker Hinako Takahashi, who was based in Iwate Prefecture, one of the areas worst hit by the Great East Japan Earthquake.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.