'Mob-tie' minister new headache for Noda
Source: Agencies |
October 23, 2012, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
JAPANESE Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda is waiting for a doctor's report before deciding the fate of his justice minister who has admitted contacts with members of the Yakuza crime syndicate.
Keishu Tanaka, 74, checked into a Tokyo hospital last Friday with chest pains, irregular heartbeat and high blood pressure after days of intensifying calls from the opposition for his resignation.
Tanaka, only three weeks into his job after the latest reshuffle of Noda's cabinet, was responding to a weekly magazine report accusing him of past ties to organized crime.
Tanaka said he acted as a matchmaker at a mobster's wedding and attended a party thrown by the head of a crime group about 30 years ago, explaining that he was not aware of the groom's mob connections or the nature of the event at the time.
Asahi and Yomiuri dailies reported Tanaka's days were numbered and Noda would let him go to minimize the damage.
"Since he is in hospital, I think Noda will handle the matter upon hearing from doctors," Kyodo news agency quoted Democratic Party Deputy Secretary-General Jun Azumi as saying.
The scandal is the latest in a string of setbacks for Noda and his cabinet since he took over in September 2011 as the Democrats' third prime minister in as many years. A poll by Asahi showed yesterday that support for Noda had fallen below the 20 percent mark for the first time.
Keishu Tanaka, 74, checked into a Tokyo hospital last Friday with chest pains, irregular heartbeat and high blood pressure after days of intensifying calls from the opposition for his resignation.
Tanaka, only three weeks into his job after the latest reshuffle of Noda's cabinet, was responding to a weekly magazine report accusing him of past ties to organized crime.
Tanaka said he acted as a matchmaker at a mobster's wedding and attended a party thrown by the head of a crime group about 30 years ago, explaining that he was not aware of the groom's mob connections or the nature of the event at the time.
Asahi and Yomiuri dailies reported Tanaka's days were numbered and Noda would let him go to minimize the damage.
"Since he is in hospital, I think Noda will handle the matter upon hearing from doctors," Kyodo news agency quoted Democratic Party Deputy Secretary-General Jun Azumi as saying.
The scandal is the latest in a string of setbacks for Noda and his cabinet since he took over in September 2011 as the Democrats' third prime minister in as many years. A poll by Asahi showed yesterday that support for Noda had fallen below the 20 percent mark for the first time.
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