Akira Amari, Japan’s Economic Revitalization Minister, Resigns Amid Scandal
By MAKIKO INOUE and HISAKO UENO

TOKYO — A chief architect of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s plan to resuscitate Japan, the world’s third-largest economy, resigned on Thursday after reports by a magazine that he had accepted money from the head of a construction company in exchange for political favors.

Akira Amari, the minister for economic revitalization, announced his resignation after markets closed in Japan. It was both a surprise and an embarrassing setback for Mr. Abe, who has used monetary easing by the Bank of Japan and other economic measures — a package known as Abenomics — to reverse the deflation and lackluster economic growth that have beleaguered the country for much of the past quarter-century.

Mr. Amari, 66, was a close ally of Mr. Abe, and he led Japan’s negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a major trade accord reached in October, after seven years of negotiations. He is the fourth minister of Mr. Abe’s government, but by far the most powerful, to resign over allegations of misconduct.

“I feel responsible for appointing him, and I apologize to the Japanese people for this matter,” Mr. Abe said after Mr. Amari’s resignation.

Mr. Abe called the economy his “top priority,” and he immediately appointed to the post Nobuteru Ishihara, a former environment minister and the secretary general of Mr. Abe’s party, the Liberal Democrats, which has been in power throughout most of Japan’s postwar history.

On Friday, the Bank of Japan lowered its benchmark rate to -0.1 percent beginning Feb. 16. The bank said the step was needed to help stimulate the economy and hit its target of 2 percent annual inflation.

Mr. Amari had been expected to travel to New Zealand next week for a signing ceremony for the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Mr. Abe, while crediting Mr. Amari for his work on the trade accord, said the resignation would not affect the deal, as its provisions were “already basically agreed.”

The scandal that led to Mr. Amari’s downfall unfolded quickly.

The magazine Shukan Bunshun reported last week that a construction company had given Mr. Amari and his aides cash and gifts totaling 12 million yen, or about $100,000. The funds were not fully reported in public records, as required, the magazine said. The company was involved in a dispute with a semipublic housing agency over a public works contract, and it was seeking Mr. Amari’s help in resolving it, the magazine said.

After the reports, Mr. Amari insisted at a news conference last Friday that he had not “broken any laws,” and he pledged to answer more questions after “confirming my memories.”

But a follow-up piece in the magazine on Thursday quoted a company official, Takeshi Isshiki, as saying that Mr. Amari had twice pocketed envelopes containing ¥500,000 in cash — at his ministerial office in Tokyo in November 2013 and at his office in Kanagawa Prefecture in February 2014. It claimed that further unrecorded payments were made, for a total of tens of millions of yen.

The magazine also reported salacious details concerning two aides to Mr. Amari. According to the magazine, Mr. Isshiki accompanied them to bars and nightclubs in the Ginza area of Tokyo, where he covered the expenses. One aide took ¥3 million and used it for personal purposes, according to a report disclosed during Mr. Amari’s news conference on Thursday.

Mr. Amari acknowledged at that news conference that his aides had acted improperly, citing the investigation by an independent lawyer whom Mr. Amari had hired to look into the matter. The two aides have resigned.

Mr. Amari also acknowledged that Mr. Isshiki had brought cash to his office, but he said that he had told an aide to properly record the money as a political donation.

He strongly denied the magazine’s account that he had placed the envelope with the money in his pocket. “Putting money in my suit pocket in front of a visitor,” he said, “would be lacking dignity as a human being.”

Mr. Amari said that he was resigning for the good of the country, and he noted that he had stayed on the job while battling tongue cancer.

“I was appointed as the commander of Abenomics by Prime Minister Abe, and I was in charge of steering the Japanese economy, and I have been working on national service by risking my life for the last three years,” Mr. Amari said. “Without rest and sleep, I worked hard to break away from deflation, revive the economy and restore fiscal health, reform the social security and tax system, and move ahead on the Trans-Pacific Partnership.”

Mr. Abe, who served a previous term as prime minister in 2006-7 before winning the job again in 2012, has seen his current tenure marred by several resignations.

In October 2014, the justice minister, Midori Matsushima, and the minister for the economy, trade and industry, Yuko Obuchi, resigned — Ms. Matsushima over an election-law violation and Ms. Obuchi over misuse of political funds.

坦承收賄 日TPP大臣閃辭

日本經濟再生大臣、跨太平洋夥伴協定（TPP）大臣甘利明28日坦承收受建商現金，引咎辭職，遺缺由東京都前知事石源慎太郎長子、執政自民黨前幹事長石原伸晃接任。日本共同社報導，甘利明為日相安倍晉三政府核心人物，他的辭職將帶來巨大衝擊，可能動搖安倍政府的執政基礎。

甘利明是安倍經濟政策的總指揮，他的辭職可能導致「安倍經濟學」成長計畫受挫。安倍為任命甘利明向國人道歉，並旋即任命石原伸晃接任，試圖控管損害。石原當選過九屆眾議員，是自民黨東京都連會長、近未來政治研究會會長。

甘利明宣布閃辭，但自認沒有違法，辭職是為他的秘書的行為負責。甘利明說，為避免這項金錢醜聞產生政治影響，造成政府擺脫經濟緊縮的努力分神，決定辭職。

共同社報導，甘利明可能擔心醜聞衝擊夏季參院選舉選情，因此急著止血 。

甘利明辭職，應會對安倍政府造成打擊，在野黨將追究安倍的任命責任。安倍回鍋執政後，因國人對經濟復甦有所期待，支持度始終居高不下，甘利明醜聞可能成為安倍政府執政的分水嶺。

記者會中，甘利明坦承各在2013年和2014年兩度收受建商金錢，各收取50萬日圓（約台幣14萬元）現金。

他強調，當時曾指示秘書，將這些現金當成政治獻金妥善處理。但秘書管理馬虎，部分金錢不翼而飛。他說，已有兩名秘書辭職，他身為上司，決定辭職負責。

千葉縣白井市的建商主管一色武指控甘利明收賄與關說。共同社報導，這100萬日圓現金主要是答謝甘明利協助解決該公司與都市再生機構之間的問題。

「周刊文春」雜誌上周踢爆醜聞，震撼政壇。報導說，包括秘書在內，提供給甘利明方面的現金和招待等，光是留有證據部分，就達1200萬日圓（約台幣340萬元）。28日上市的最新一期「周刊文春」，提供了甘利明邀請一色武參加日相所主辦賞櫻會照片。

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/29/world/asia/japan-akira-amari-resigns.html

2016-01-29．聯合報．A17．國際．編譯王麗娟