body-container-line-1
23.02.2015 Japan

Japan farm minister resigns over scandal

23.02.2015 LISTEN
By GNA

Tokyo, Feb. 23, (dpa/GNA) - Japanese Farm Minister Koya Nishikawa said Monday he had tendered his resignation to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe over his political funds scandal.

Abe accepted the resignation and said he would appoint former farm minister Yoshimasa Hayashi to take over the post.

The changes come two months after the premier's conservative Liberal Democratic Party won a major victory in parliamentary elections in the powerful lower house.

The premier said he bears responsibility for appointing Nishikawa in September, when he reshuffled his cabinet.

Nishikawa conceded that he had received a 1-million-yen donation (8,400 dollars) from a company run by a sugar manufacturers' group, four months after his ministry decided to give a 1.3-billion-yen subsidy to the group.

GNA EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE

body-container-line