{"id":10271,"date":"2011-09-10T00:09:34","date_gmt":"2011-09-10T00:09:34","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2011-09-10T00:09:58","modified_gmt":"2011-09-10T00:09:58","slug":"Japan-s-trade-minister-resigns-over-radiation-comments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/?p=10271","title":{"rendered":"Japan’s trade minister resigns over radiation comments"},"content":{"rendered":"

Japan’s economy, trade and industry minister resigned on Saturday over his comments about radiation contamination in crisis-hit Fukushima, Japanese media reported. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Yoshio Hachiro<\/strong>, appointed only a week ago in the new government of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, provoked anger when he called the area around the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant a “shi no machi” or a “town of death”. <\/p>\n

Kyodo News reported that Noda had accepted Hachiro’s resignation, which came a day before Japan was set to mark six months since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, which left 20,000 dead or missing and sparked the nuclear crisis at Fukushima. <\/p>\n

Witnesses have also said that after his visit to the nuclear plant, Hachiro looked as if he was rubbing his jacket against a journalist, while making a remark to the effect that “I will infect you with radiation.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

On Saturday, he denied the media reports of the incident but also declined to elaborate on what exactly happened, saying it was during an unofficial meeting with reporters.<\/p>\n

In a press conference on Saturday, Hachiro, apologised repeatedly and said Noda had accepted his resignation.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hachiro’s remark and apparent joking about radiation were widely seen as insensitive and immediately prompted opposition parties to demand Noda dismiss him.<\/p>\n

The “town of death” comment was seen as particularly outrageous because the government cannot provide evacuated residents with a firm timetable for their return.<\/p>\n

It has said that some areas near the Fukushima site will be uninhabitable for years due to high levels of contamination.<\/p>\n

Tens of thousands remain evacuated from homes, farms and businesses in a 20 kilometre (12 mile) radius around the Fukushima plant<\/strong> and in some pockets beyond after the quake and tsunami sparked reactor meltdowns and the spewing of radiation into the environment.<\/p>\n

As economy, trade and industry minister, Hachiro was charged with addressing Japan’s energy policy amid a post-Fukushima public nuclear backlash<\/strong>, with the majority of the nation’s reactors offline for safety tests. <\/p>\n

Hachiro’s missteps are not the first to affect Noda’s administration.<\/p>\n

Source AFP<\/em>
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