Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told the Diet on Thursday that she “strongly reprimanded” Agriculture Minister Kazuo Yana over comments suggesting road budgets could be withheld from municipalities whose mayors backed his rival in February’s election, but she stopped short of accepting his resignation.
What Yana said
Yana’s remarks implied that local leaders who did not support him could see infrastructure funding squeezed. Opposition Constitutional Democratic Party leaders called the attitude political retaliation and boycotted a House of Councillors agriculture committee session where Yana was scheduled to deliver a policy speech.
Takaichi’s calculation
By keeping Yana in office while scolding him publicly, Takaichi avoids a cabinet reshuffle during typhoon recovery debates. CDP Secretary-General Masayo Tanabu said the minister’s stance is “absolutely unacceptable,” signaling that committee work may stay frozen until Yana steps down or offers a fuller apology.
Stakes for farm constituencies
Rice farmers in disaster-hit Chiba are watching whether road and irrigation budgets become entangled in partisan fights. Neutral governors asked the farm ministry to publish objective criteria for post-typhoon subsidies, fearing Yana’s gaffe will slow approvals even if no mayor is actually punished.
Diet schedule impact
With the opposition skipping committee hearings, farm subsidy bills may slip past the Sports Day recess. LDP coalition partners said they still back Yana’s rice-import policies even if his rhetoric embarrassed the prime minister.
Local LDP chapters in Chiba distanced themselves from the funding threat, issuing statements that road repairs will follow disaster assessments only—a subtle rebuke to the minister’s original comments.