TOKYO, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Thursday appointed ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lawmaker Arata Takebe as the new farm minister to succeed Kazuo Yana, who resigned a day earlier in what was effectively a dismissal over a string of scandals.
Yana, who joined the cabinet for the first time when Takaichi reshuffled it on Sept. 17, served less than a month, becoming the first cabinet minister to step down over scandals since Takaichi took office last October.
Analysts said Takaichi had prioritized consolidating her own power in making personnel appointments while disregarding appointees' political integrity. The latest controversy has not only dealt a heavy blow to her political credibility but could also affect the implementation of related policies.
If the Takaichi administration remains fixated on right-wing policies and relies on stoking populist sentiment to maintain its approval ratings while failing to address the public's concerns, its governing prospects will only grow dimmer, analysts warned.
"CUTTING LOSSES" UNDER PRESSURE
Japanese media reported in late September that Yana had told a local LDP meeting in May that fiscal 2026 road budgets had been sharply cut for Nasukarasuyama City and Nakagawa Town, two municipalities in his constituency whose mayors did not support him in the House of Representatives election in February.
He was also quoted as saying it was "only natural" to allocate more funds to places that rely on LDP lawmakers.
The remarks sparked a widespread backlash. Yana initially declined to comment on his activities before taking office, saying the issue was outside his ministerial jurisdiction. However, as the controversy escalated and opposition parties pressed him on the matter in the Diet, Japan's parliament, he retracted the remarks and apologized on Oct. 5.
More trouble soon followed. On Oct. 7, Japanese media reported that Yana had arranged free shuttle bus rides for supporters during the 2024 and 2026 House of Representatives election campaigns, possibly in violation of the Public Offices Election Act, which prohibits the provision of benefits and vote-buying.
Answering questions at a House of Representatives session Tuesday, Yana claimed his camp had confirmed with local electoral authorities in advance that the arrangement was lawful. After opposition lawmakers exposed the claim as false, however, he backtracked the following day.
Takaichi had initially made clear that Yana would stay in his post. But as the scandals snowballed and opposition parties stepped up pressure for his resignation, the prime minister shifted her stance, criticizing Yana's remarks and saying she "will not hesitate" to dismiss him "if illegality is found" in his conduct.
With both Takaichi and Yana already scrambling to contain the fallout, fresh media reports emerged on Wednesday that a woman who had helped with Yana's campaign in the 2024 lower house election was paid to call voters and urge them to vote for him, another possible violation of the Public Offices Election Act.
Following the series of allegations and mounting criticism, Yana submitted his resignation at a meeting with Takaichi on Wednesday night, and the prime minister accepted it.
According to analyses by Japanese media, opposition parties, which hold a majority in the Senate, or the upper house of the Diet, have recently moved toward a consensus on submitting a censure motion against Yana.
Although such a motion is not legally binding, its passage would inevitably disrupt parliamentary deliberations and hinder the Takaichi government's legislative agenda, including a bill to temporarily cut the consumption tax on food. Under this pressure, Takaichi had no choice but to let Yana go.
CRONYISM UNDER FIRE
Although Takaichi has tried to contain the damage by cutting Yana loose, questions over her judgment in personnel appointments persist.
Opposition parties and Japanese media commentators argued that Yana's remarks demonstrate that he is unfit to serve as a cabinet minister, or even as a lawmaker, and that Takaichi has made light of the issue, downplaying its gravity.
Kyodo News quoted an LDP lawmaker as saying that Yana believed he would not be replaced because he enjoyed Takaichi's favor, leading him to treat the scandals dismissively. The lawmaker described this as "a downside of (Takaichi's) cronyism."
In fact, Yana is not the only member of Takaichi's reshuffled cabinet embroiled in scandals.
On Tuesday, education minister Yoshihiro Seki admitted that an LDP branch he heads had held political fundraising events within parliamentary office facilities in 2020 and 2024, in breach of the rules.
Because the revenue from both events far exceeded their expenses, and the format of such events makes it easy to conceal the identities of those who bought tickets, a Japanese law scholar described the practice as an egregious form of fundraising that exploits loopholes in the system.
Moreover, both Seki and Yana had previously been disciplined by the LDP over a high-profile political slush fund scandal that came to light in late 2023.
Separately, Hiroshi Nakatsuka, the minister in charge of regulatory reform from the Japan Innovation Party, the LDP's junior coalition partner, was reportedly arrested and indicted in 2007 over a bid-rigging case involving a public construction project while serving as mayor of Hirakata in Osaka Prefecture. He was subsequently convicted.
The string of controversies has cast serious doubt on Takaichi's personnel decisions.
Toshiko Takeya, former Komeito party leader, criticized the LDP for still failing to get to the bottom of the systemic problems behind the slush fund scandal.
Akira Koike, head of the secretariat of the Japanese Communist Party, said the new cabinet lineup showed no sign that Takaichi had reflected on the scandal.
CONSOLIDATING POWER AT EXPENSE OF LIVELIHOODS
Japanese media reports suggested Takaichi's appointment of "scandal-tainted" politicians was intended to shore up her own power base.
In its coverage of the September cabinet and LDP executives reshuffle, Fuji Television Network noted that Takaichi has long struggled with a weak power base within the party. As a result, it said, she relied on the faction of Taro Aso, whose backing helped her win the party leadership race, in making personnel appointments, while bringing in lawmakers implicated in the slush fund scandal to win over members of the former Abe faction.
So far, however, the strategy appears to have backfired.
A poll released by the Asahi Shimbun in late September found that 68 percent of respondents considered the appointment of lawmakers implicated in the slush fund scandal problematic, a view shared by more than half of cabinet supporters and LDP supporters.
The latest poll by public broadcaster NHK, released on Tuesday, showed the Takaichi cabinet's approval rating falling to its lowest level in NHK polling since the prime minister took office.
The top two reasons respondents gave for not supporting the cabinet were that they "don't expect its policies to work" and "cannot trust the prime minister."
While seeking to consolidate her power base by appointing scandal-tainted politicians, Takaichi has not done much to improve people's livelihoods.
The same Asahi Shimbun poll found that 76 percent of respondents considered it problematic that the government had repeatedly promised a consumption tax cut on food without clearly explaining how the measure would be funded.
Meanwhile, a quarterly survey released by the Bank of Japan on Tuesday showed that nearly 90 percent of households polled expected prices to continue rising over the coming year, underscoring persistent public pessimism about the price outlook.
An editorial in the Shimbun Akahata argued that the root of the Takaichi administration's problems lies in a policy agenda focused more on military buildup and constitutional revision. Unless the administration changes course, the editorial warned, the rift between the government and the public will only deepen. ■