Embattled agriculture minister Taku Eto resigned from his post Wednesday, following a growing public backlash after he made insensitive remarks over the price of rice. He was replaced by former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi.
“I believe that the current situation calls for a political decision to lower the price to a level that the public would be able to afford,” Koizumi said after he met with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Wednesday afternoon.
”What I have to focus on now is rice, as if I was the minister in charge of rice,” he said.
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