Tokyo, Oct. 16 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi apologized on Friday over the resignation of scandal-hit former agriculture minister Kazuo Yana and vowed to restore public trust in her government. “I feel remorseful, and I take my responsibility seriously for appointing” Yana, who resigned earlier this week, the prime minister said at a meeting of the Budget Committee of the Senate, the upper chamber of parliament. “My cabinet will work as one to find solutions to each and every key issue,” she said. On her handling of Yana’s scandals, including one linked to budget cuts for municipalities whose mayors did not support him in a general election, Takaichi said, “I wasn’t trying to protect him.” She added, “I thought that he should fulfill his responsibility to explain (what he did) and encouraged him to do so.” Kiyomi Tsujimoto of the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan said that Takaichi’s “lack of decisiveness” was exposed, accusing the prime minister of putting self-preservation ahead of decisive action. “I had no intention (of trying to save my own skin),” Takaichi replied. On Yana’s alleged public offices election law violations, Takaichi said, “Whether a specific act violates the election law should be judged by relevant authorities based on the facts.” “I can’t make a preconceived judgment of whether (Yana’s) acts violated the law,” she added. On Friday, Arata Takebe made his first Budget Committee meeting appearance since becoming the new Japanese agriculture minister. Takebe said that imports of fresh potatoes from the United States will not be approved “unless a mutually acceptable agreement is reached.” “I’ll carefully handle the matter with a firm attitude,” he added. When Tsujimoto asked why the prime minister missed the Oct. 2 online summit of the Group of Seven major democracies, she said that the time of the meeting was finalized only shortly before it began, leaving insufficient time for preparations, including the setup of video conferencing equipment. Takaichi also said that the meeting focused on responses to issues including fuel prices in Europe and the United States. “It was not the kind of meeting that required Japan’s prime minister to attend,” she said, adding that a proxy representative had been permitted. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
