TOKYO — Japan’s foreign minister abruptly quit Sunday for having accepted a political donation from a foreigner — a violation of Japanese law — dealing another blow to the embattled administration of Prime Minister Naoto Kan.
Seiji Maehara, 48, was foreign minister for just six months and was viewed as a leading candidate to succeed Kan.
Maehara acknowledged receiving a total of 250,000 yen ($3,000) over the past several years from a 72-year-old Korean woman who has lived most of her life in Japan. He said they had been friends since his childhood.
Japanese law makes it hard for foreigners to become citizens, even if their families have lived in the country for generations. The foreign residents include hundreds of thousands of ethnic Koreans, many descended from laborers brought forcibly to Japan during World War II.
Japan’s political-funding law prohibits lawmakers from accepting donations from any foreigners, even those born in Japan.
Maehara’s resignation at a televised news conference Sunday night furthers the high turnover that has plagued government officials in recent years. It also is likely to further erode public confidence in Kan, the country’s fifth leader in four years, whose public approval rating has fallen below 20 percent.
Opposition parties, which have worked hard to obstruct the Democrats’ attempts to pass the budget and move ahead on other legislation, will likely be emboldened by Maehara’s resignation.
