Japan Prime Minister One Step Behind in Rice Remark Saga; Finally Dismissed Cabinet Member Under Opposition Pressure

By Kazuhiko Hori and Mari Kaneyama / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers

15:41 JST, May 22, 2025

Unable to withstand the rapidly mounting pressure from opposition parties, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba made a U-turn and decided to sack Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Taku Eto over his controversial comments about rice.

Ishiba initially considered dismissing Eto immediately but then decided to keep the minister in his post. However, the issue kept plaguing Ishiba and he ultimately was forced to let Eto go. Ishiba has entrusted the heavy responsibility of restoring public trust in the government’s handling of the rice issue to Shinjiro Koizumi, a reform-minded former environment minister.

At a press conference held Wednesday morning to announce Eto’s dismissal, Ishiba hinted that it had been a difficult decision.

“I will accept any criticism that comes my way,” Ishiba said to reporters at the Prime Minister’s Office.

Eto landed in hot water for saying Sunday that he had “never bought rice.” When this comment was widely reported in the media the following day, Ishiba was furious and considered firing Eto right away.

“That’s not something that should be said even as a joke,” Ishiba fumed, according to sources. That evening, Ishiba huddled with Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi and the deputy chief cabinet secretaries to discuss how to handle the matter. However, the idea of sacking Eto gained no further support among the group.

At that time, the prevailing view among the opposition parties was to wait and see. “We understood voters were angry about the comment, but we didn’t think the matter warranted filing a no-confidence motion against the minister,” a senior official of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan told The Yomiuri Shimbun.

Given this situation, Hayashi and other government officials felt that Eto’s remark wasn’t something over which he should step down. Eto is known as a close ally of Hayashi, and even served as a top official in Hayashi’s election strategy headquarters when he ran for president of the Liberal Democratic Party last year. Sacking Eto without Hayashi’s consent would have been tricky for Ishiba.

The prime minister was already frustrated with Eto’s failure to knuckle down on the issue of lowering rice prices, due to his consideration of Japan Agricultural Cooperatives and other industry bodies. Ishiba, Hayashi and other senior officials agreed it would be “advisable” to keep Eto in place as this “would encourage a cooperative attitude and help push through reforms.”

Ishiba had not fired a cabinet minister before. A senior government official suggested that Ishiba also felt worried about taking that step in this case.

“Dismissing a minister just because of a verbal gaffe would set a bad precedent,” the senior official said.

Defiance made matters worse

Eto turned the situation on its head with a response he gave at the upper house’s Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Committee on Tuesday morning. Eto, who represents a constituency in Miyazaki Prefecture, defiantly attempted to explain that his comment that he had “never bought rice” was actually a “way of saying things in the Miyazaki dialect.”

This spurred the opposition parties to adopt a harder line. Eto’s remarks, combined with his clumsy explanation the previous day that he had been trying to make a joke, were repeatedly played on television and social media. Public outrage forced opposition parties to respond. Even the Democratic Party for the People, which had been reluctant to demand Eto be shown the door, changed tack and adopted a tougher approach.

The minister “is unfit for the task,” CDPJ leader Yoshihiko Noda said at a party meeting Tuesday afternoon as he demanded that Eto be replaced. Noda also indicated he would grill Ishiba over his responsibility for appointing Eto, during the debate among party leaders Wednesday.

Five opposition parties confirmed they would consider submitting a no-confidence motion against the minister. Behind the scenes, opposition party officials informed senior officials of the LDP’s Diet Affairs Committee that they were serious about taking this step.

The LDP is part of a minority ruling coalition. If the opposition parties band together on a no-confidence motion, it will pass. A sense of urgency over the Eto issue was quickly spreading within the LDP’s Diet Affairs Committee. “If he isn’t axed before the party leaders’ debate, that will become the responsibility of the prime minister who stood by him,” a committee member said. “The damage will get worse.” Committee officials pressed the Prime Minister’s Office to take action.

Vested interests

On Tuesday evening, Ishiba finally made up his mind to replace Eto. A key factor in this decision was the acceptance by LDP Secretary General Hiroshi Moriyama, a prominent lawmaker representing the interests of the agriculture industry and an expert in Diet affairs, that jettisoning Eto had become inevitable. Moriyama laid the groundwork by telling former prime ministers and other people holding key positions within the LDP that he would make Eto submit a letter of resignation “the next day.”

Ishiba also agonized over who to select as Eto’s replacement. The prime minister initially gave priority to maintaining a steady course and contemplated selecting a lawmaker with vested interests in the agriculture industry, such as a former agriculture minister.

One person Ishiba considered was Ichiro Miyashita, a member of the LDP’s former Abe faction and a past agriculture minister. However, Miyashita was ruled out after he was deemed “high risk” due to his involvement in a hidden political funds scandal that rocked the party in late 2023.

In the end, Ishiba asked Moriyama for input in choosing Eto’s successor. Moriyama recommended Koizumi, who he holds in high regard due to Koizumi’s diligence during political reform negotiations with various parties.

Koizumi does not represent agriculture industry interests, and Moriyama’s suggestion was a stroke of luck for the prime minister. Ishiba and Koizumi are aligned on the need for agricultural policy reform, and having Moriyama’s support will make it easier for Koizumi to keep lawmakers with vested interests at bay. Ishiba’s aides have high expectations that Koizumi’s appointment could boost the party.

“If he implements major agricultural reforms based on the mindset of the general public, the tide could change ahead of the upper house election” this summer, one aide said.

On Wednesday morning, Ishiba rued how the Eto saga had played out. “He should’ve just apologized,” Ishiba said to a close aide. “This really stings.”

Ishiba later called Koizumi to the Prime Minister’s Office and instructed him to deal with the issue of soaring rice prices.

“This is a challenging issue at a very challenging time, but do your best to produce good results,” Ishiba urged his incoming agriculture minister.