Two women quit Shinzo Abe's cabinet, dealing blow to reform drive

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe suffered a double setback yesterday with the resignations of two female cabinet ministers over claims they misused political funds, dealing a blow to his drive to boost the role of women in society.

Industry minister Yuko Obuchi and justice minister Midori Matsushima quit after days of allegations that they had misspent money in what opponents insisted was an attempt to buy votes.

Their loss briefly reduced to three the number of women in the cabinet, after Abe's widely praised move in September to promote a record-equalling five females to his administration.

"I'm the person who appointed the two. As prime minister, I take responsibility for this and deeply apologise," Abe said.

Yoichi Miyazawa, a lawmaker and nephew of former prime minister Kiichi Miyazawa, would replace Obuchi as industry minister, Abe said. Yoko Kamikawa, a 61-year-old woman politician and former state minister in charge of Japan's declining birth rate, is the new justice minister.

The resignations are the first significant problem for Abe since he swept to power in December 2012, ending years of fragile governments that swapped prime ministers on an annual basis.

While commentators generally agreed that this would not be the end of the hard-charging premier, who has moved to reinvigorate Japan's lacklustre economy, they cautioned that he was now vulnerable.