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Japanese Minister Quits After Finance Scandal
Japan's Prime Minister has apologised to the Japanese people after one of his ministers was forced to step down.
The Minister for Banking Regulation, Kimitaka Kuze, has admitted receiving payments from a bank, after being appointed by Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori only four weeks ago.
He says he told Prime Minister Mori that in the past 16 years he had received payments and gifts from the Mitsubishi Trust Bank totalling $A3 million to $4 million.
He says the payments were legal and took place some years ago, but he is stepping down so as not to damage Japan's finance industry.
Prime Minister Mori has apologised to the Japanese people, saying that he has to take responsibility for what has happened.
Mr Kuze is the first of the Ministers appointed by Japan's new Prime Minister to lose their job.
In February, one of his predecessors as Reconstruction Minister stepped down after being caught on tape telling a group of banking executives that he could help if they thought their audits were too severe.
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