Japan's rice prices have doubled in a year, and the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, who faced criticism for remarks implying that 'there is no need to buy rice because it is piled up,' has effectively been dismissed. Shinjiro Koizumi, the former Minister of the Environment, is reportedly the leading candidate to succeed him.
According to local public broadcaster NHK and others on the 21st, Taku Eto, the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, said on that day, 'I will take responsibility for my remarks,' and submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Ishiba at the Prime Minister's residence in Tokyo, which Ishiba accepted immediately.
Earlier, on the 18th, Minister Eto had remarked regarding stored rice at a ruling Liberal Democratic Party political funding event in Saga City, Saga Prefecture, 'I have never bought rice. Supporters give me rice in abundance. I have enough to sell at home.'
As it became known that a minister responsible for rice policy made such remarks while rice prices continue to soar, criticism erupted in Japanese society. Calls for resignation also came from the opposition parties. While Prime Minister Ishiba remained noncommittal about whether to dismiss him, Eto resigned on the 21st, just three days after the controversial remarks.
Japanese media reported that Prime Minister Ishiba plans to appoint former Minister of the Environment Shinjiro Koizumi as Eto's successor. Koizumi is the son of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and a six-term member of the House of Representatives affiliated with the Liberal Democratic Party.
He first won election to the House of Representatives at the age of 28 in the 2008 election, and in 2019, was appointed Minister of the Environment at the age of 38, making him the third youngest in postwar history.
In South Korea, he is famously known as 'Fun Cool Sexy.' At an environmental event held in New York City in 2019, he caused a stir by stating, 'We need to respond to big issues like climate change in a fun, cool, and sexy manner,' earning him the nickname 'Fun Cool Sexy' in South Korea.
Meanwhile, according to data released by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries the day before, the relative transaction price for 2024 rice in April (based on brown rice, 60 kg) has reached 27,102 yen (approximately 262,000 won), setting a record high.