The Minister of Agriculture of Japan resigned after saying that he never bought rice because he does it freely, a remark that attracted public fury in a country faced with the outbreak of food prices.
The resignation of Taku Etō added to the pressure on the Prime Minister, Shigeru Ishiba, whose fact of not raising the prices of rice and responding to a wider cost of living cost made the voters before the elections of the upper chamber in July.
“Just on time, I submitted my resignation to Prime Minister Ishiba,” Etō told journalists at the Prime Minister’s office.
Etō had faced calls for his resignation after saying that he had never had to buy rice, rather based on supporters’ gifts.
Etō had initially sympathized with the “difficulties” felt by consumers after the government released around 300,000 tonnes of rice from emergency stocks earlier this year in the hope of reducing prices. But speaking during a fundraising last weekend, Etō said that he had “never bought rice myself because my supporters gave me so much that I can sell it practically”.
Etō would be replaced by Shinjirō Koizumi, a former Minister of the Environment who presented himself without success against Ishiba for the leadership Liberal Party (LDP).
Etō commentary exasperated consumers, who must pay almost double for a bag of rice compared to a year ago, according to figures published in April.
“I wondered if it was appropriate for me to stay at the helm (from the Ministry of Agriculture) at a critical time for the rice prices, and I concluded that this is not the case,” added Etō, according to the Kyodo news agency.
“Again, I apologize to people for having made extremely inappropriate comments as minister when they find it difficult to raise rice prices.”
The rice deficit in Japan has been charged to several factors, including bad harvests due to hot time in 2023 and the purchase of panic caused by a warning of “megaquake” in 2024. Wholesalers and distributors are also considered to be hidden in rice in anticipation of new shortages.
Ishiba had previously apologized for ETō’s remarks.
The current rice crisis and the increase in household food and energy bills won the popularity of the Ishiba government, weeks before facing voters in the upper chamber elections which could determine its future as Prime Minister.
In a recent Kyodo survey, 87% of respondents were not satisfied with the management by the government price of rice, while the approval ratings of the Ishiba firm have flowed to their lowest since he took office last October.
The average rice price sold in supermarkets during the week to May 11 has reached a record of 4,268 yen ($ 29) for 5 kg, compared to ¥ 4,214 the previous week and approximately double the price a year ago.
In April, Japan imported South Korea rice for the first time in a quarter of a century to combat the growing anger of consumers.
Junya Ogawa, secretary general of the main constitutional Democratic Party of the opposition, described the comments of Etō as “extremely inappropriate, out of contact and intolerable”.
Etō admitted that his remarks had made his wife angry. “She told me that she buys rice when the rice given exhausts,” he said. “It is not as if our family lived entirely from the rice that is given to us as gifts.”
