A lawmaker from Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s ruling party resigned from his position as vice minister, the Foreign Ministry announced, following allegations he received a bribe from a wind power company.
(Bloomberg) — A lawmaker from Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s ruling party resigned from his position as vice minister, the Foreign Ministry announced, following allegations he received a bribe from a wind power company.
Masatoshi Akimoto stepped down as a parliamentary vice foreign minister Friday, hours after reports from the Asahi newspaper and other media that Tokyo prosecutors searched his office on suspicion he received a payment from unlisted Japan Wind Development Co., Ltd.
The company has denied bribing any politicians or officials, public broadcaster NHK reported. No one answered the phone at Akimoto’s office. Tokyo prosecutors declined to comment in response to questions from Bloomberg News, while Japan Wind Development referred queries to a lawyer, who did not immediately respond.
The scandal could deal a blow to Kishida, who is battling a support rate near its lowest levels since he took office nearly two years ago. The premier is due to hold a news conference later Friday to discuss the rollout of a new national ID card beset by glitches that have tarnished the image of his government.
Read: Japan PM Pledges to Fix Problems With ID Card Rollout
Akimoto, a four-term member in parliament’s lower house, has been chief secretary of the Parliamentary Association for Promotion of Renewable Energies within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party since 2017, according to the Foreign Ministry website. He had served as a parliamentary vice-minister for foreign affairs since August 2022.
Tokyo prosecutors have questioned the head of Japan Wind Development over suspicion it provided payments to Akimoto in a non-transparent way, NHK earlier cited a source close to the investigation as saying.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno declined to comment on the media reports and said he hadn’t received word from Akimoto on the matter.
(Updates and recasts with resignation.)
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