ID :
206427
Sat, 09/10/2011 - 20:40
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Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/206427
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Industry minister Hachiro quits over gaffes on Fukushima crisis
TOKYO, Sept. 11 Kyodo -
Japan's industry minister Yoshio Hachiro resigned Saturday after making remarks that displeased people affected by the Fukushima nuclear crisis, dealing a blow to the just-formed Cabinet of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda.
Hachiro said at a press conference he tendered his resignation to the premier on Saturday night and that it was accepted. His resignation came only eight days after he assumed the post.
Hachiro was under pressure to quit after he called areas near the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant a ''town of death'' Friday and made a joking remark earlier in the presence of reporters about radiation leakage from the plant.
''I'm very sorry that a spate of my remarks made citizens, especially people in Fukushima Prefecture, feel a sense of mistrust,'' Hachiro said.
Noda decided to appoint Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura as acting industry minister for the time being, and will try to appoint Hachiro's successor soon, government officials said.
Criticism not only from crisis-affected people and opposition lawmakers but also his colleagues in Noda's ruling Democratic Party of Japan prompted him to resign.
Hachiro was tasked with reviewing Japan's energy policy after the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, crippled by the March earthquake and tsunami.
His resignation is expected to affect the review procedures, as well as consultation work with municipalities hosting idled nuclear power reactors nationwide to restart amid heightened public concern over nuclear safety.
Hachiro accompanied the prime minister on a trip Thursday to inspect the nuclear plant and the no-go zone within 20 kilometers of the plant, and met with leaders of the disaster-affected municipalities. On Friday he made the ''town of death'' remark at a press conference.
About the remark, Hachiro said he did not mean to offend people affected by the crisis, noting he simply expressed what he saw in the vicinity of the Fukushima plant but admitted that the expression was ''inappropriate.''
On Thursday night after he visited the nuclear plant, Hachiro also made as if he was going to rub his jacket against a member of the press corps in an off-the-record action while making a remark to the effect he would contaminate a reporter with radiation.
Hachiro said he cannot recall the event in detail but denied trying to rub his jacket against the reporter.
The overall action at the meeting with the press was intended to ''share the severe situation with a reporter,'' he said. ''But it was taken as an act that makes people have mistrust and I judged that it was unforgivable.''
Hachiro said he ''felt chagrined'' he could no longer work as a minister to tackle various issues facing Japan, such as the nuclear crisis, the yen's recent sharp appreciation and Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact matters.
In a similar development, Ryu Matsumoto resigned as reconstruction minister in July only a week after he assumed the post after his remarks during a trip to a disaster-affected area were criticized as high-handed.
2011-09-11 01:42:48
Japan's industry minister Yoshio Hachiro resigned Saturday after making remarks that displeased people affected by the Fukushima nuclear crisis, dealing a blow to the just-formed Cabinet of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda.
Hachiro said at a press conference he tendered his resignation to the premier on Saturday night and that it was accepted. His resignation came only eight days after he assumed the post.
Hachiro was under pressure to quit after he called areas near the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant a ''town of death'' Friday and made a joking remark earlier in the presence of reporters about radiation leakage from the plant.
''I'm very sorry that a spate of my remarks made citizens, especially people in Fukushima Prefecture, feel a sense of mistrust,'' Hachiro said.
Noda decided to appoint Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura as acting industry minister for the time being, and will try to appoint Hachiro's successor soon, government officials said.
Criticism not only from crisis-affected people and opposition lawmakers but also his colleagues in Noda's ruling Democratic Party of Japan prompted him to resign.
Hachiro was tasked with reviewing Japan's energy policy after the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, crippled by the March earthquake and tsunami.
His resignation is expected to affect the review procedures, as well as consultation work with municipalities hosting idled nuclear power reactors nationwide to restart amid heightened public concern over nuclear safety.
Hachiro accompanied the prime minister on a trip Thursday to inspect the nuclear plant and the no-go zone within 20 kilometers of the plant, and met with leaders of the disaster-affected municipalities. On Friday he made the ''town of death'' remark at a press conference.
About the remark, Hachiro said he did not mean to offend people affected by the crisis, noting he simply expressed what he saw in the vicinity of the Fukushima plant but admitted that the expression was ''inappropriate.''
On Thursday night after he visited the nuclear plant, Hachiro also made as if he was going to rub his jacket against a member of the press corps in an off-the-record action while making a remark to the effect he would contaminate a reporter with radiation.
Hachiro said he cannot recall the event in detail but denied trying to rub his jacket against the reporter.
The overall action at the meeting with the press was intended to ''share the severe situation with a reporter,'' he said. ''But it was taken as an act that makes people have mistrust and I judged that it was unforgivable.''
Hachiro said he ''felt chagrined'' he could no longer work as a minister to tackle various issues facing Japan, such as the nuclear crisis, the yen's recent sharp appreciation and Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact matters.
In a similar development, Ryu Matsumoto resigned as reconstruction minister in July only a week after he assumed the post after his remarks during a trip to a disaster-affected area were criticized as high-handed.
2011-09-11 01:42:48
