Japan’s agriculture minister resigns after backlash over ‘Never Bought Rice’ comment.

Japan’s Agriculture Minister, Taku Eto has resigned following widespread backlash over a controversial comment made during a period of record-high food prices. Eto sparked outrage after saying he had “never had to buy rice” because his supporters gifted him so much —a remark made as Japanese citizens grapple with surging rice prices caused by poor harvests & rising tourist demand.

“Just now, I submitted my resignation to Prime Minister Ishiba,” Eto told reporters. “It was extremely inappropriate to make such a remark while citizens are struggling with soaring rice costs.” His resignation piles more pressure on Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba whose approval rating has dropped to 27.4% amid public fr¥stratuon over his administration’s handling of food inflation.

Critics say the government has failed to respond adequately to the crisis. Opposition parties slammed Eto’s remarks as tone-deaf & called into question his fitness for office.

Junya Ogawa, secretary general of the Constitutional Democratic Party, described the comment as “out of touch and intolerable.” Party leader Yoshihiko Noda added that Eto was unfit to oversee rice pricing and distribution.

The backlash grew after Eto’s comments at a recent fundraiser where he joked he could “practically sell rice” thanks to donations from supporters. This came despite his earlier acknowledgment of the hardship consumers face — even after the government released 300,000 tonnes of rice from reserves to help control prices.

Eto’s departure comes at a critical time as rice prices have nearly doubled over the past year — a major concern for Japanese households already dealing with stagnant wages. He is expected to be replaced by Shinjiro Koizumi, a former environment minister and one-time contender for leadership of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

“I asked myself whether I should remain in office during such a critical time,” Eto said. “I concluded that I should not.”