The suicide of farm minister Toshikatsu Matsuoka amid political funds scandals is both shocking and sad. It is regrettable that he chose to kill himself rather than sincerely answer questions over the suspicions surrounding him. Mr. Matsuoka's suicide should come as a political blow to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who continued to defend him by saying that he had fulfilled his responsibility under the Political Funds Control Law.
When Mr. Abe appointed Mr. Matsuoka as farm minister in September 2006, there already were suspicions about his handling of political funds. Mr. Abe has paid a big price for appointing him as a Cabinet member just because he was close to him.
Although Mr. Matsuoka's political fund management organization is located in a Diet office where rent and utilities are free, it reported spending 28.8 million yen on utilities for five years through 2005. Mr. Matsuoka first offered a ridiculous explanation that the use of a water purifier cost a lot. Then he said the reports did not contain any irregularities and refused to explain how the money was used. His fund management body also reported spending more than 25 million yen yearly as office expenses.