Monday's suicide of Toshikatsu Matsuoka surprised opposition lawmakers who had seen a golden opportunity to grill the scandal-tainted farm minister, but they were quick to turn the blame on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Opposition parties had been poised to step up their questioning of Matsuoka after he failed to provide a clear-cut account of his office expenses. Matsuoka was scheduled to attend a committee session on the matter in the afternoon.

"I'm very surprised," said Yukio Hatoyama, secretary general of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan. He quickly stressed that Matsuoka's death should not stop opposition parties from pursuing the scandal.