Japan opposition presses farm minister to quit

TOKYO, Sep 2 (Reuters) Japanese opposition parties called today for the farm minister to resign, less than a week after he took the job, over illegal dealings at a farmers' aid group he headed.

Conservative Prime Minister Shinzo Abe named a new cabinet last Monday to try to revive public support after the ruling coalition suffered a disastrous defeat in a July 29 election which gave the opposition a majority in parliament's upper house.

Takehiko Endo, Abe's choice for agriculture minister, admitted yesterday he knew more than three years ago that the organisation had illegally taken 9,900 dollars from the state, but failed to disclose this to the prime minister before his appointment.

The group, in Endo's constituency in northern Japan, has not returned the money to state coffers.

Endo apologised but said he did not intend to resign.

''He should first fulfil his responsibility to explain, and then he should resign,'' Mizuho Fukushima, head of the tiny opposition Social Democratic Party, told NHK television.

''If he does not, we will pursue this with a censure motion.'' The opposition has the votes to pass a censure motion in the upper house. The motion would not be binding, but would be a major embarrassment and put pressure on Endo to resign.

Naoto Kan, a senior executive of the main opposition Democratic Party, also said Endo was unfit for the job.

''The explanation given by the farm minister is not at all persuasive to the public nor to the Democratic Party,'' Kan said.

Abe's first cabinet, formed last September, was plagued by gaffes and scandals that contributed to the bashing at the polls.

Endo's predecessor was sacked over reports of discrepancies in his political funding records and the previous incumbent committed suicide after a separate scandal.

The head of the junior partner in the ruling coalition also sounded a note of frustration over the fresh scandal.

''Frankly, it is shameful and regrettable that such problems keep emerging one after another,'' Akihiro Ota, leader of the Buddhist-backed New Komeito, told NHK.

Abe's support rates rebounded to around 40 per cent according to some media surveys after he named the new cabinet, but doubts about his leadership capability remain. Analysts have said revelations of fresh misdeeds could end the honeymoon.

Two junior cabinet ministers also acknowledged mistakes in political fund reporting yesterday, media reported.

An extra session of parliament is expected to open around September 10, although no official date has been set.

The government will have a tough time enacting legislation, including a bill to extend a naval mission to support US-led operations in Afghanistan that the opposition is against.

Bills rejected by the upper house can be returned to the lower chamber and enacted there by the coalition's two-thirds majority, but doing so is a time-consuming process.

REUTERS SKB BD0940