Japan ruling party member quits ministry post amid probe

TOKYO - A lawmaker from Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s ruling party resigned from his position as vice-minister, the Foreign Ministry announced, following allegations that he received a bribe from a wind power company.

Mr Masatoshi Akimoto stepped down as a parliamentary vice foreign minister on Friday, hours after reports from the Asahi newspaper and other media that Tokyo prosecutors searched his office on suspicion he received a payment from unlisted Japan Wind Development Co.

The company has denied bribing any politicians or officials, public broadcaster NHK reported. No one answered the phone at Mr Akimoto’s office.

Tokyo prosecutors declined to comment in response to questions from Bloomberg News, while Japan Wind Development referred queries to a lawyer, who did not immediately respond.

The scandal could deal a blow to Mr Kishida, who is

battling a support rate near its lowest levels

since he took office nearly two years ago.

The premier is due to hold a news conference later on Friday to discuss the rollout of a new national ID card

beset by glitches

that have tarnished the image of his government.

Mr Akimoto, a four-term member in Parliament’s lower house, has been chief secretary of the Parliamentary Association for Promotion of Renewable Energies within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party since 2017, according to the Foreign Ministry website.

He had served as a parliamentary vice-minister for foreign affairs since August 2022.

Tokyo prosecutors have questioned the head of Japan Wind Development over suspicion that it provided payments to Mr Akimoto in a non-transparent way, NHK earlier cited a source close to the investigation as saying.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno declined to comment on the media reports and said he hadn’t received word from Mr Akimoto on the matter. BLOOMBERG