Suga s press official quits over communications ministry scandal
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga s press official resigned Monday, a week after drawing fire for being treated to a lavish dinner while at the communications ministry by a broadcasting firm that employs the premier s eldest son.
Makiko Yamada. (Kyodo)
Cabinet Public Relations Secretary Makiko Yamada was hospitalized Sunday afternoon due to ill health requiring about two weeks of treatment and reported later that day she can no longer fulfill her duties, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said at a press conference.
Her abrupt departure is yet another blow to Suga, who has been struggling with falling public support after a series of scandals involving government officials and criticism over his response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The headquarters of Tohokushinsha Film Corp. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
A company at the center of a wining and dining scandal announced on Feb. 26 that its president is resigning, and the eldest son of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, an employee, is being disciplined.
Kiyotaka Ninomiya, president of Tohokushinsha Film Corp., who attended some of the dinners with senior telecommunications ministry officials, will be succeeded by a vice president.
“We deeply regret for having seriously undermined public confidence (in our company),” Ninomiya said in a statement. “We keenly feel our management responsibility.”
The Tokyo-based company, which operates a satellite broadcasting business, said the directors and executive officers who played leading roles in organizing wining and dining sessions will be dismissed or will step down from their posts.
Suga denies ethics scandal pushed him to skip news conference Sorry, but your browser needs Javascript to use this site. If you re not sure how to activate it, please refer to this site: https://www.enable-javascript.com/
KYODO Feb 26, 2021
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga denied Friday that an ethics scandal involving a senior press official had anything to do with his decision not to hold a news conference that day when announcing the partial lifting of the coronavirus emergency.
Cabinet Public Relations Secretary Makiko Yamada, who moderates Suga’s news conferences, came under fire after she was found to have been treated to a luxurious dinner in 2019 by the now-prime minister’s eldest son.
Japan PM Suga denies ethics scandal pushed him to skip press conference
February 26, 2021 (Mainichi Japan)
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga meets the press at his office in Tokyo on Feb. 26, 2021, after announcing that the country will lift its coronavirus state of emergency for six prefectures at the end of the month, but the Tokyo metropolitan area will have to wait for further signs of improvement. (Kyodo) TOKYO (Kyodo) Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga denied Friday that an ethics scandal involving a senior press official had anything to do with his decision not to hold a news conference that day when announcing the partial lifting of the coronavirus emergency.
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