JAPAN:Japan's embattled agriculture minister, Toshikatsu Matsuoka, hanged himself yesterday hours before he was due to be questioned by MPs about a political funding scandal that threatens to engulf the prime minister, Shinzo Abe, weeks before crucial national elections.
A government spokesman confirmed that Mr Matsuoka (62) had died in hospital early yesterday afternoon, hours after he was found unconscious in his flat in central Tokyo. The minister had come under pressure about allegations that his office had submitted false expenses claims for water and other utilities amounting to more than 28 million yen (€170,000). The office was rent-free and utilities were not charged.
Last week the media reported that Mr Matsuoka had also received millions of yen in "donations" from businessmen bidding for contracts. He had repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
Police have yet to confirm the cause of death, but reports said Mr Matsuoka had hanged himself from a door in his apartment. The contents of a note said to have been found near his body have not been released. He is the first serving Japanese cabinet minister to have taken his own life since the end of the second World War.
Mr Abe described Mr Matsuoka's suicide as "very regrettable". Although he refused to speculate on the cause, he noted that the minister had been under "intense" scrutiny about allegations that he had misused taxpayers' money. Mr Abe had resisted calls from his party to sack him.
Mr Matsuoka's death is certain to increase pressure on Mr Abe before elections for the upper house of parliament on July 22nd, his first real test as leader.
Opinion polls yesterday showed support for the administration was at its lowest since he took office last September. His cabinet's approval rating has fallen to 32 per cent, down 11 percentage points from last month.
Observers said Mr Abe could pay the ultimate political price for making Mr Matsuoka a cabinet minister. Rumours about his financial dealings were circulating before his appointment.
The government is still reeling from an administrative mix-up that resulted in the loss of pension payment records for more than 50 million people, some of whom may have received smaller pensions than they were entitled to.
Mr Abe's popularity was already suffering as a result of scandals involving some of his closest allies. In December, Masaaki Homma, whom he had appointed to oversee taxation policy, quit after the revelation that he had been living with his mistress in a taxpayer-funded apartment in Tokyo.
Days later, Genichiro Sata resigned as administrative reform minister after admitting that his support group had been involved in accounting irregularities.
LDP insiders are privately bracing themselves for defeat in the elections in July, with some conceding that the party may win as few as 40 seats, more than 20 short of the number it needs to hold on to the majority it controls with the help of MPs from the New Komeito party. Half of the upper house's 242 seats are contested every three years; seats for the more powerful lower house are not due to be contested until 2009. - Guardian service)