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Friday, 19 September 2008
Japan agriculture minister quits over tainted rice
TOKYO - Japan's agriculture minister resigned Friday over widespread sales of mold- and pesticide-tainted rice used to make lunches for thousands of schoolchildren and nursing home patients. More in comments...
TOKYO - Japan's agriculture minister resigned Friday over widespread sales of mold- and pesticide-tainted rice used to make lunches for thousands of schoolchildren and nursing home patients.
Seiichi Ota said he submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, who announced his own resignation just two weeks ago over a political stalemate in parliament. Ota assumed his post in August.
"I met with Prime Minister Fukuda and told him my decision to resign, considering the seriousness of the tainted rice problem for the society," Ota said. National broadcaster NHK reported Fukuda had accepted the resignation.
Japanese consumers have been horrified in recent weeks over the discovery of rice tainted with pesticides and mold being served to thousands of people. The rice was imported for use in industry, such as the manufacture of glue, but was instead distributed inside Japan as food.
The resignation was the latest blow to Fukuda's government, which has struggled during his year in office over a parliament split between the opposition-controlled upper house and the ruling party-dominated lower house.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party is holding an election next week to choose a new president, and the winner is all but guaranteed to be chosen as Fukuda's successor by parliament two days later.
The rice scandal has been particularly damaging in Japan, where consumers are notoriously finicky about food safety. One distributor apparently involved in the sales reportedly committed suicide over the scandal this week.
The rice was tainted with the pesticide methamidophos at concentrations that exceeded government regulations, but too low to threaten anyone's health, officials say. There have been no reports of anyone getting sick from the rice.
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By SHINO YUASA,Associated Press
19 September 2008
TOKYO - Japan's agriculture minister resigned Friday over widespread sales of mold- and pesticide-tainted rice used to make lunches for thousands of schoolchildren and nursing home patients.
Seiichi Ota said he submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, who announced his own resignation just two weeks ago over a political stalemate in parliament. Ota assumed his post in August.
"I met with Prime Minister Fukuda and told him my decision to resign, considering the seriousness of the tainted rice problem for the society," Ota said. National broadcaster NHK reported Fukuda had accepted the resignation.
Japanese consumers have been horrified in recent weeks over the discovery of rice tainted with pesticides and mold being served to thousands of people. The rice was imported for use in industry, such as the manufacture of glue, but was instead distributed inside Japan as food.
The resignation was the latest blow to Fukuda's government, which has struggled during his year in office over a parliament split between the opposition-controlled upper house and the ruling party-dominated lower house.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party is holding an election next week to choose a new president, and the winner is all but guaranteed to be chosen as Fukuda's successor by parliament two days later.
The rice scandal has been particularly damaging in Japan, where consumers are notoriously finicky about food safety. One distributor apparently involved in the sales reportedly committed suicide over the scandal this week.
The rice was tainted with the pesticide methamidophos at concentrations that exceeded government regulations, but too low to threaten anyone's health, officials say. There have been no reports of anyone getting sick from the rice.
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