Japanese Justice Minister Resigns After Revealing Organized Crime Links
October 23rd, 2012Via: AFP:
Japan’s justice minister, who has admitted past links with organised crime, resigned Tuesday just three weeks into the job, citing “health problems”, the government said.
Keishu Tanaka was brought into the cabinet at the start of the month as part of a reshuffle aimed at shoring up Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s shaky administration.
But a little over a week later he was forced to admit a yakuza connection after a tabloid magazine revealed he had once acted as matchmaker for a senior mobster.
Tanaka, whose ministry oversees the work of the courts, apologised but repeatedly insisted he would not be stepping down.
However, Noda on Tuesday “accepted his letter of resignation, although it was disappointing”, said top government spokesman Osamu Fujimura at a news conference.
He added: “We cannot do anything about him (Tanaka) resigning due to health problems.”
