Reconstruction minister Ryu Matsumoto resigned Tuesday — his ninth day as minister in charge of rebuilding of the Tohoku region hit by the March 11 quake and tsunami and the nuclear crisis — over his remarks that offended many Tohoku people.
Clearly he failed to carefully consider how to behave. But his resignation also shows that Prime Minister Naoto Kan is not exercising proper control over Cabinet members.
Mr. Tatsuo Hirano, senior vice reconstruction minister, took over Mr. Matsumoto's job. But what transpired could delay the reconstruction work. More importantly, voters as well as lawmakers, including those within the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, will regard the Kan administration as malfunctioning, thus creating further confusion in the political scene.