TOKYO: Japan was stung yesterday by its third political scandal in a week after the country’s new industry minister — whose predecessor resigned in disgrace over misspending — admitted that his underlings had spent office cash at a strip club.
The new revelations could deal another serious blow to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose administration is already facing a public backlash over its bid to turn Japan’s shuttered nuclear reactors back on while his plan to revive the economy stalls.
Newly appointed industry minister Yoichi Miyazawa, a former senior bureaucrat in the finance ministry, distanced himself from the affair, saying he wasn’t present at the strip club in the city of Hiroshima. AFP
