TOKYO (Reuters) – Masatoshi Akimoto, a member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, has resigned from his position as deputy minister following allegations of bribery from a wind power company. The resignation deals another blow to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, whose approval rating recently reached its lowest level since taking office in 2021.
Tokyo prosecutors raided Akimoto’s office based on suspicions that he had accepted bribes amounting to tens of millions of yen, according to public broadcaster NHK.
Akimoto’s resignation as vice minister was later announced by the foreign ministry.
Efforts to reach out to Akimoto’s office went unanswered, while government spokesperson Hirokazu Matsuno declined to comment, stating that Akimoto had not discussed the matter with him.
This development comes amid public frustration with the Kishida administration’s proposal to consolidate tax and social security data into a single identification card. Recent errors associated with the card, such as health insurance information being linked to the wrong social security account and incorrect welfare payments, have further fueled criticism.
A Yomiuri newspaper poll conducted in July revealed that approval for the Kishida administration had plummeted to a record low of 35%. The same survey indicated that 52% of respondents did not support the government.
State broadcaster NHK, along with other media outlets, reported that Tokyo prosecutors suspect Japan Wind Development Co of providing bribes to Akimoto. The company, based in Tokyo, declined to comment and directed inquiries to its lawyer. Reuters was unable to reach the company’s lawyer for a statement.
In response to the allegations, a lawyer representing the company’s president denied any involvement in bribery, as reported by the Sankei newspaper.
Reporting by Sakura Murakami; editing by Robert Birsel)
Credit: The Star : News Feed
