/ 28 May 2007

Scandal-hit Japanese minister attempts suicide

Japan’s Agricultural Minister attempted to hang himself amid a scandal over his use of official funds, media reports said on Monday. Toshikatsu Matsuoka (62) was unconscious and his heart had stopped, public broadcaster NHK reported.

Japanese police could not immediately comment. Officials at Tokyo’s Keio University Hospital confirmed Matsuoka had been admitted for treatment, but would not comment further.

Matsuoka’s motive was not known, but he has faced criticism over a scandal involving suspicious bookkeeping practices involving utility fees for his offices.

Scandals have rocked the Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. On Monday, support for his government fell to its lowest level since he took office last year, according to two newspaper polls.

Support for Abe’s Cabinet plunged to 32%, down 11 percentage points from a similar poll in April, a survey by the national newspaper Mainichi, taken over the weekend, showed.

The government’s disapproval rating rose to 44%, up from 33%, the Mainichi said. A separate poll by the Nikkei business daily showed Abe’s popularity falling to 41%, down 12 percentage points from the previous month. His disapproval rating rose to 44% from 37%.

Both Mainichi and Nikkei cited dissatisfaction with the government’s apparent loss of pension-payment records for millions of people. It was the latest problem for Abe’s government, which has faced financial scandals involving several Cabinet ministers.

Matsuoka had also been dogged by scandal. He apologised publicly just three days after taking office for not declaring one million yen ($8 500) in political donations from a scandal-linked group. He acknowledged the undeclared funds, which came in the form of purchased tickets to a fund-raising party, saying he was unaware the contributions had not been reported.

Matsuoka had since corrected his political-funds report for 2005.

Japan’s political-funds law requires politicians to declare such donations when they exceed 200 000 yen ($1 700), Kyodo News said.

The contributions came from the World Business Expert Forum, a group associated with scandal-hit business consultant FAC, which was raided by authorities in June on suspicion of illegally collecting funds from investors, Kyodo said. — Sapa-AP