The Japanese Minister of Agriculture, Taku Eto, resigned on Tuesday. He had been under fire since Sunday after making a clumsy remark about expensive rice. The minister said he never has to buy it himself because he always receives it from his supporters.
Eto’s comments were not appreciated. Inflation in Japan has risen to almost 4 percent in recent months. As a result, daily groceries, including rice, have become considerably more expensive. Residents now pay almost 4,500 yen (27.6 euros) for a 5-kilo package, twice as much as a year ago.
“I made a very clumsy statement. Many people are suffering from the increased rice price,” Eto told reporters after submitting his resignation. Former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi has been appointed as Eto’s successor.
Koizumi said upon his appointment that he would make rice a priority. In recent months, the Japanese government has put parts of the emergency supply on the market to lower prices, but this has had little effect so far.
An expert tells The Japan Times that Japan is still suffering from the relatively poor rice harvest of 2023. In addition, there is increasing demand for rice, partly because more and more tourists are coming to Japan. In 2024, the country welcomed a record number of 36.87 million visitors.