Scandal in Agriculture Politics

Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Koya Nishikawa, submitted a letter of resignation to Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, on Monday evening. Abe accepted it and immediately appointed Nishikawa’s predecessor, Yoshimasa Hayashi. After the appointment last fall, Nishikawa had been suspected to have received inappropriate political money from business organizations related to his job. The opposite parties are questioning responsibility of Abe to have appointed an inappropriate person to the post.

Nishikawa received ¥3 millions of donation from a timber processing company in Kanuma city, Tochigi, the district where he was elected as a Representative, through a regional branch of Liberal Democratic Party he presided in March 2012. The company was registered to be issued ¥700 millions of subsidy from Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries four months before donating Nishikawa. Political Fund Control Law prohibits a company receiving subsidy from national government to make donation for a year.

In addition, he also received ¥1 million from Sugar-refining Industry Building, which was related to Association of Sugar-refining Industry in July 2013. The association received governmental ¥1.3 billions of subsidy from MAFF four months before the donation. While Nishikawa explained that the building firm and the association were different organization and the donation was not illegal, the opposite parties accused him that the building firm was a paper company and the donation was actually from the association.

Although Abe tried to protect Nishikawa to avoid negative impact on his Cabinet, he realized his stepping down was unavoidable. His argument in the Diet that approved Nishikawa’s effort in explanation has changed to recognition of frustration in the public on the lack of persuasiveness. Newspapers reported that Abe had decided Nishikawa’s resignation as early as later last week.

This will never be the end of the story. Nishikawa was deeply involved in agricultural policy including negotiation of Trans-Pacific Partnership. Sugar is one of the five categories of agricultural products that the Japanese government promised farmers to firmly protect from the high-level free trade framework. Close relationship between the representative of agricultural policies and sugar-refining industries may cause suspicion on Abe’s handling of the issue.

The opposite parties are preparing for questioning Abe’s responsibility in the Diet. It is reported that the passage of new year budget will delay as late as April, which means that the government needs to arrange temporary appropriation for new fiscal year starting April. It is possible that this scandal marks new decline of Abe administration.