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Japan's justice minister to step down over gaffe
(AFP) – 2 hours ago
TOKYO — Japan's Justice Minister Minoru Yanagida will step down after he caused outrage by saying his job was easy, in a fresh blow to Prime Minister Naoto Kan's cabinet, according to local media and an official.
Yanagida visited Prime Minister Naoto Kan's office early Monday, where he was "seen to be expressing his will to resign," public broadcaster NHK said.
Yanagida will hold a news conference on his resignation at 10:15 am (0115 GMT), a justice ministry official told AFP after talks with Kan.
Last weekend Yanagida told supporters in his Hiroshima constituency that "being justice minister is easy as I only have to remember two phrases, either of which I can use in parliament whenever I'm stuck for an answer".
He then recited the sentences: "I refrain from commenting on individual cases" and "I am acting appropriately based on the law and evidence."
The conservative opposition has reportedly planned a censure motion against Yanagida, which would be non-binding but would deal a blow to Kan's cabinet, whose public support has plunged below 30 percent over its handling of the ailing economy and territorial rows with China and Russia.
Yanagida has repeatedly apologised to parliament and the main opposition group, the Liberal Democratic Party, whose lawmakers have lashed out at his remarks, saying they were disrespectful of the Diet legislature.
Yanagida will become the first minister to step down since Kan reshuffled his cabinet in mid-September shortly after winning re-election as the president of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku will double as the justice minister after Yanagida's resignation, NHK said.
Kan has previously said he had no plans to remove Yanagida from the Cabinet post, but pressure not only from the opposition but also from some ruling party members kept mounting.
The latest poll issued Monday by the Mainichi Shimbun daily said public support for Kan's cabinet plunged to a low of 26 percent, down by 23 points from the previous survey, in October.
The cabinet's disapproval rating surged to 57 percent from 34 percent, according to the survey, which polled 1,591 households over the weekend.
Asked about Yanagida's comments that his job was easy and consisted of repeating two simple phrases, 71 percent of voters said they are "worth his resignation."
(AFP) – 2 hours ago
TOKYO — Japan's Justice Minister Minoru Yanagida will step down after he caused outrage by saying his job was easy, in a fresh blow to Prime Minister Naoto Kan's cabinet, according to local media and an official.
Yanagida visited Prime Minister Naoto Kan's office early Monday, where he was "seen to be expressing his will to resign," public broadcaster NHK said.
Yanagida will hold a news conference on his resignation at 10:15 am (0115 GMT), a justice ministry official told AFP after talks with Kan.
Last weekend Yanagida told supporters in his Hiroshima constituency that "being justice minister is easy as I only have to remember two phrases, either of which I can use in parliament whenever I'm stuck for an answer".
He then recited the sentences: "I refrain from commenting on individual cases" and "I am acting appropriately based on the law and evidence."
The conservative opposition has reportedly planned a censure motion against Yanagida, which would be non-binding but would deal a blow to Kan's cabinet, whose public support has plunged below 30 percent over its handling of the ailing economy and territorial rows with China and Russia.
Yanagida has repeatedly apologised to parliament and the main opposition group, the Liberal Democratic Party, whose lawmakers have lashed out at his remarks, saying they were disrespectful of the Diet legislature.
Yanagida will become the first minister to step down since Kan reshuffled his cabinet in mid-September shortly after winning re-election as the president of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku will double as the justice minister after Yanagida's resignation, NHK said.
Kan has previously said he had no plans to remove Yanagida from the Cabinet post, but pressure not only from the opposition but also from some ruling party members kept mounting.
The latest poll issued Monday by the Mainichi Shimbun daily said public support for Kan's cabinet plunged to a low of 26 percent, down by 23 points from the previous survey, in October.
The cabinet's disapproval rating surged to 57 percent from 34 percent, according to the survey, which polled 1,591 households over the weekend.
Asked about Yanagida's comments that his job was easy and consisted of repeating two simple phrases, 71 percent of voters said they are "worth his resignation."
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