Japan Economy Minister reigns amid corruption allegationsJanuary 28, 2016 - 15:10 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Japan's Economy Minister Akira Amari has said he is resigning amid corruption allegations, BBC News reports. Amari unexpectedly made the announcement at a press conference in Tokyo on Thursday, Jan 28. But he again denied personally receiving bribes from a construction company, as had been alleged by a Japanese magazine. The development will be seen as a significant blow for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Amari, who has been minister of state for economic and fiscal policy since late 2012, has been widely described as one of Abe's most trusted members of parliament. As Japan's lead negotiator for the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, Amari was expected to travel to New Zealand next week to sign the agreement. He was also regarded as the architect of Abenomics - Abe's plan to pull the world's third largest economy out of deflation. Amari will be replaced by Nobuteru Ishihara, formerly the country's environment minister, the BBC says. A local magazine reported last week that Amari and his aides were given money and gifts worth some 12m yen ($101,000) by a construction company in return for some favors linked to land ownership. Amari said he did receive money which he wanted declared as a political donation, however, he said some of it was mishandled by his staff. Japan's economy, which has been struggling with deflation for nearly two decades, avoided a technical recession in the three months to September last year. "Japan is finally emerging from deflation," Amari told the press conference, as reported by Reuters. "We need to pass legislation through parliament for steps to beat deflation and create a strong economy as soon as possible. Anything that hampers this must be eliminated, and I'm no exception," Reuters reported him as saying. I, therefore, would like to resign as minister to take responsibility [for what my aide has done]," he was quoted as saying. Amari is the fourth member of Abe's cabinet to resign amid allegations of bribery, among other issues. Abe has apologized for the latest resignation. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. U.S. welcomes efforts to define Armenia-Azerbaijan border The United States welcomes efforts to define the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, says Vedant Patel. Biden honors resilience of Armenian people on April 24 U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. |