Corrupt cabinet minister resigns

The Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries on March 31 resigned to take responsibility for corruption scandals involving his secretaries.

Minister Oshima Tadamori is involved in the allegations that his secretary accepted some tens of millions of yen in bribery over a public work project and another secretary pocketed 6-million yen that he received from an Oshima supporter as a political donation.

Asked by reporters to comment on Oshima's resignation, Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi criticized Oshima for running away from his responsibility by concealing the suspicion that he himself ordered the two secretaries to accept the bribery in disregard of the Political Funds Control Law.

Ichida stated that although Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro is the one responsible for appointing the agricultural minister, he protects such a scandal-plagued minister and tries to cover up the allegations.

The JCP will demand that the Diet make efforts to fully disclose Oshima's scandals and establish a ban on corporate donations, a root cause of the cozy ties between politicians and businesses, Ichida said.

The four opposition parties also agreed to call for a Diet summon of witnesses to reveal the facts. (end)