Gao City’s “think tank” was exposed in scandal and trapped in “budget scandal”

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, October 2: Only half a month after Japan’s new cabinet took office, cabinet members were exposed to scandals. According to Japanese media reports on the 2nd, the new Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Kazuo Kazuo was accused of abusing his power and arbitrarily cutting the budgets of local governments that did not support him, triggering widespread criticism. When Kazuo was running for parliament, Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae once “supported” him and commented that he was his “think tank.” The opposition camp may hold him accountable for his appointment.

According to media reports such as Japan’s Weekly Bunshun magazine, the “Budget Gate” incident occurred in May this year. At a meeting of the Tochigi Prefecture branch of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Kazuo said complacently that the budget for road construction in Nasu Karasuyama City and Nakagawa Town in the prefecture had been “significantly reduced.” According to the media, Hesheng did this because the above-mentioned areas did not support him in the House of Representatives election in February. He lost that election to his opponent and was eventually elected through the “resurrection” of proportional representation.

On May 29, in front of the Diet Building in Tokyo, Japan, people held banners and participated in a protest rally to protest against a series of dangerous policy trends of the Takaichi Sanae government. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Jia Haocheng

According to Japanese media reports, Kazuo supports Takaichi Sanae on many policies such as maintaining the “couples have the same surname” and is one of the few “collaborators” with Takaichi Sanae. He is a member of Conservative Solidarity, a conservative group of the Liberal Democratic Party, which is advised by Sanae Takaichi. During the House of Representatives election in February this year, Sanae Takaichi went to Tochigi Prefecture to support Kazuo Kazuo. In his speech, he publicly called him his “think tank” and “very important to me.”

Kawasaki was once a member of the “Abe faction”, the original faction of the Liberal Democratic Party. In 2024, he was suspended from office for six months by the Liberal Democratic Party due to the “black money” scandal of the Liberal Democratic Party. In September this year, he was appointed Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, becoming one of the two ministers in the new cabinet involved in the “black gold” scandal, causing controversy.

After the “Budget Gate” scandal was exposed, the opposition party camp and the Japanese people were strongly dissatisfied and demanded the resignation of Hesheng. Some people criticized on the Internet that He Hesheng used the public budget as a private threat tool and “only has money, votes and power in his eyes” and must be replaced. Others pointed out that Takaichi Sanae promoted people with low moral standards to cabinet ministers and should be held accountable. The opposition camp may ask Sanae Takaichi and the Liberal Democratic Party to explain the matter.