Japan farm minister resigns after saying he’s never bought rice amid soaring prices

Japan’s farm minister has stepped down after drawing public backlash by remarking, at a time of record food prices, that he “never had to buy rice” thanks to supporter gifts.

Taku Eto’s resignation mounts pressure on prime minister Shigeru Ishiba, whose approval rating has plummeted to 27.4 per amid voter fury over his government’s weak response to rising food inflation.

“Just now I submitted my resignation to prime minister Ishiba,” Mr Eto told reporters at the prime minister’s office. “I made an extremely inappropriate remark at a time when citizens are suffering from soaring rice prices.”

Mr Eto’s remark had sparked widespread criticism from voters frustrated by record rice prices driven by a poor harvest and surging tourist demand.

Opposition parties, criticising Mr Eto for being “tone deaf” and slamming Mr Ishiba for initially standing by him, had started weighing the possibility of bringing a no confidence motion against the minister.

“I bear full responsibility for making the appointment,” the prime minister told reporters after accepting Mr Eto’s resignation.

He had earlier issued an apology for Mr Eto’s remark.

Junya Ogawa, secretary general of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party, condemned Mr Eto’s remark as “extremely inappropriate, out of touch, and intolerable”.

Yoshihiko Noda, the leader of the party, said Mr Eto had “rubbed the public the wrong way” and was unfit to oversee rice pricing and distribution as agriculture minister. “He is not the right fit for the job,” Mr Noda told his party’s members at a meeting.

Kazuya Shimba, secretary general of the Democratic Party for the People, also condemned Mr Eto’s conduct. “An agriculture minister who does not understand the feelings of ordinary people should immediately resign,” he said.

The doubling of rice prices over the past year has emerged as a major concern for Japan’s voters used to prolonged deflation and stagnant real wages.

The government has attempted to rein in prices by releasing rice from its emergency reserves since March, but with limited success so far.

Mr Eto had acknowledged the “hardship” faced by consumers after the government released around 300,000 tonnes of rice from emergency reserves earlier this year in an attempt to curb soaring prices.

However, at a fundraising event last weekend, he triggered outrage by saying he “never bought rice myself because my supporters donate so much to me that I can practically sell it”.

He is expected to be replaced by Shinjiro Koizumi, the former environment minister who unsuccessfully challenged Mr Ishiba for leadership of the Liberal Democratic Party last autumn.

“I asked myself whether it is appropriate for me to stay at the helm at a critical time for rice prices and I concluded that it is not,” Mr Eto said after submitting his resignation, according to the Kyodo news agency.

“Once again, I apologise to people for making extremely inappropriate comments as minister when they are struggling with surging rice prices.”