Japan's justice minister resigns over links to organised crime

Japan’s justice minister quit on Tuesday due to ill health, and amid calls for his resignation over past ties to an organised crime syndicate, dealing another blow to unpopular Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda.

Keishu Tanaka, 74, became justice minister only three weeks ago in a cabinet reshuffle on October 1, and his resignation is the second by a minister since Noda took office September last year, reflecting Noda’s weak grip on the government.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura told a news conference on Tuesday that Tanaka stepped down due to his health.

Tanaka’s resignation came a day after he left a Tokyo hospital, having checked in on Friday with chest pains, irregular heartbeat and high blood pressure, following days of intensifying calls for his resignation after a magazine report linked him to organised crime.

Tanaka said he acted as a matchmaker at a mobster’s wedding and attended a party thrown by the head of a crime group about 30 years ago, explaining that he was not aware of the groom’s mob connections or the nature of the event at the time.

Tanaka has also admitted shortly after his appointment that his party branch accepted 420,000 yen ($5,300) in donations from a company run by a foreigner between 2006 and 2009. Accepting funds from foreign nationals is illegal if done so knowingly.