WORLD> Asia-Pacific
|
WORLD> Asia-Pacific
|
|
Japan minister quits in blow to brand new PM Aso
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-09-28 14:40 TOKYO -- Japan's transport minister resigned from his post on Sunday after just four days in the job over a series of contentious remarks, a blow to brand new Prime Minister Taro Aso as he considers calling a snap election.
Transport Minister Nariaki Nakayama, the first to resign from Aso's cabinet, had come under fire on Saturday for calling Japan's biggest teachers union a "cancer" in the education system. It was the latest in a series of gaffes by Nakayama, one of several outspoken allies whom Aso had tapped as ministers. "We cannot say that this is not damaging," Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura told a news conference after Aso accepted Nakayama's resignation. "We must show the people how hard the Aso government is working, and try to win back the public's confidence. That is all that we can do," he added. Kazuyoshi Kaneko will be appointed the new transport minister, Japanese media said. Aso, an outspoken nationalist who favours spending and tax cuts to boost Japan's faltering economy, took office on Wednesday to replace Yasuo Fukuda, the second Japanese premier to quit abruptly in a year after seeing their popularity slump. "Aso, who had just launched his new cabinet, has suffered an early blow," the Nikkei business daily said in an editorial. "Prime Minister Aso's responsibility for the appointment will be sharply questioned," the paper said, noting Nakayama, a former education minister, had a history of controversial remarks. Aso, who himself has a reputation for offending with off-the-cuff comments, is widely expected to call an early general election to try to break a policy deadlock due to a divided parliament, where the opposition controls the upper house and can delay laws. |
