Japan minister resigns after saying supporters give him free rice amid soaring food prices

Japan’s agriculture minister has resigned over his controversial comments about getting free rice from supporters amid soaring food prices nationwide.

Kyodo News reported that Taku Eto, the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, handed in his resignation on May 21.

This was hours before Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba was set to face off in parliament with opposition leaders, who had jointly threatened a no-confidence motion against Eto.

Doubts towards Eto’s suitability for his role were sparked following a comment he made at a fundraiser the previous weekend. "I'm not buying rice. Thanks to my supporters giving me plenty of it, I have so much of it in my house that I could sell it," he said.

He later explained that he intended to get a laugh from the audience, but he went “too far”.

Since then, he has apologised to the Japanese people for “making an extremely inappropriate comment as a minister when they are struggling with surging rice prices”.

He has also retracted his comment, saying he buys rice and was not living off rice gifts.

Soaring rice prices

Eto’s remark drew fury as the nation faces its first cost-of-living crisis in decades.

On May 13, Japan Today reported that rice prices have risen to twice what they were a year ago. This remained true even as rice prices fell for the first time in 18 weeks to 4,214 yen (S$38) per 5 kg.

Prices started to climb last summer, after record-breaking temperatures in 2023 depleted stockpiles.

According to The Guardian, Japan’s government has released about 300,000 tonnes (over 272 million kg) of rice from emergency stockpiles since March, hoping to curb the soaring prices.

While it has previously dipped into its rice reserves, such as in the aftermath of natural disasters or crop failures, this is the first time it has intervened in the distribution of the crop.

The government said it would release another 300,000 tonnes before July.

In a bid to turn to cheaper imports, Japan has also imported South Korean rice for the first time in 25 years.

Record-low approval ratings

Eto’s resignation has dealt a blow to Ishiba, whose failure to control rice prices has further angered voters ahead of the House of Councillors election this July.

Nikkei Asia has called it a “must-win race” for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) after it lost its majority in the powerful House of Representatives last October.

The LDP has had nearly uninterrupted rule since its founding in 1955, only losing its incumbent status briefly in 1993 to 1994 and 2009 to 2012.

According to a poll by Kyodo News, Ishiba’s cabinet had an approval rating of 27.4 per cent as of May 18. Over 87 per cent of respondents said government efforts to control rice prices had been “insufficient”.

Approval towards the LDP is at an all-time low since Ishiba took office last October, dipping by over 5 per cent in the past month. The poll results indicate a struggle to recover soured public trust after a series of political fund scandals.

The Straits Times reported that in March, Ishiba’s ratings plunged after he doled out gift vouchers, each worth 100,000 yen (S$895), to LDP lawmakers. He insisted no laws were broken as he paid for the vouchers out of his pocket.

However, the LDP has apparently neither managed to curb speculations of misappropriated government funds, nor the criticism that such lavish gift-giving in the midst of a national struggle with living costs was tone-deaf.

Eto’s successor

Since Eto's resignation, Ishiba has assigned Shinjiro Koizumi to replace him.

According to Nikkei Asia, Koizumi, the ex-Minister of Environment and son of a former Japanese Prime Minister, is one of the public’s favourites to become a future Japanese leader.

"I will devote myself as the minister in charge of rice to dispelling public anger and distrust. I will begin by focusing on our rice policy," he said.

Top images via Prime Minister's Office of Japan & Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of JAPAN/Facebook