Japanese minister resigns after saying he's never bought rice because he gets it free

Japan's agriculture minister has resigned after saying he has "never had to buy rice" while the country struggles with shortages and rising costs of its staple grain.

Taku Eto offered his resignation to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Wednesday after he made the comments at a party seminar on Sunday.

Mr Eto said his supporters have always gifted him rice, meaning he does not have to buy it himself.

His comments immediately sparked a public backlash.

"I made an extremely inappropriate remark at a time when consumers are struggling with soaring rice prices," Mr Eto told reporters after handing in his resignation at the prime minister's office.

He told the Kyodo news agency: "I asked myself whether it is appropriate for me to stay at the helm [of the agriculture ministry] at a critical time for rice prices, and I concluded that it is not.

"Once again, I apologise to people for making extremely inappropriate comments as minister when they are struggling with surging rice prices."

Opposition parties had threatened to submit a no-confidence motion against him if Mr Eto did not resign voluntarily by Wednesday afternoon.

Japan has been struggling with rice shortages since hot weather resulted in a poor harvest in 2023.

More recently, a government preparedness warning ahead of a major earthquake last August prompted panic buying - squeezing supplies even further.

Politicians have also blamed the rising cost of fertiliser and other related goods.

The crisis has seen the government release vast quantities of rice from its emergency stockpiles for the first time.

In April, Japan also imported the grain from South Korea for the first time in 25 years in a further bid to boost supplies and lower prices.

But shelf prices have continued to rise, reaching 4,268 yen (£22) per 5kg in the week to 11 May - double what it was a year ago.

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Mr Eto has been replaced by Shinjiro Koizumi, a former environment minister who ran unsuccessfully against the prime minister for the Liberal Democratic Party leadership last year.

The rice crisis is placing further strain on Mr Ishiba's minority government - ahead of the country's upcoming elections in July.

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