Japanese cabinet member commits suicide
Monday, May 28, 2007
NHK has reported the death of Toshikatsu Matsuoka (62), the minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries of Japan and a member of Liberal Democratic Party. According to the police of Tokyo Metropolitan and members of Matsuoku including his secretary he was found hanged in a room of the his apartment in Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo at 0:18 p.m local time, say the Japanese media including Mainichi Shimbun.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki confirmed his death but gave no further comment, Asahi Shimbun reports.
Matsuoka has been in disputes and criticized by the opposition parties since March due to unclear descriptions of annual financial reports of one of his support organizations, which all lawmakers and ministers are legally required to publish. Also in May it was exposed he accepted donation from an organization controlled by Japan Green Resources Agency, which itself is a non-profit organisation settled and which should report directly to the government. Inappropriate financial management of JGRA has been recently revealed and two of it's high positioned staff were arrested on May 24. Mainichi says after those arrests, some lawmakers in the ruling party LDP claimed Matsuoka should resign from the minister seat.
Sources
edit- "Farm minister Matsuoka kills himself" — Asahi Shinbun, 2007-05-24
- "自殺図った松岡農相 死亡確認" — NHK, 2007-05-28
- "松岡農相:首をつって自殺図り心肺停止状態 議員宿舎で" — Mainichi Shinbun, 20070-50-28
- "松岡農水相が自殺 議員宿舎で首つる" — Asahi Shimbun, 2007-05-28
- "緑資源機構理事ら6人逮捕 独禁法違反容疑で東京地検" — Asahi Shimbun, 2007-05-24