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Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Nakagawa Resigns Over Scandals
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hidenao Nakagawa resigned Friday after coming under heavy fire over his alleged involvement with a right-wing extremist and an extramarital affair.
The resignation of the 56-year-old Nakagawa, Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's closest aide, is regarded as a heavy blow to Mori.
Yasuo Fukuda, the eldest son of the late Japanese Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda and a member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), was immediately appointed to succeed Nakagawa.
Nakagawa was forced to step down after weekly magazines accused him of having an affair with a woman in her 20's and having dubious links with a senior member of a right-wing group.
"I cannot cause further problems to the people and the government's administration, and from this viewpoint, I offered to resign," Nakagawa told a news conference after tendering his resignation.
Mori said he felt responsible.
"Although I did not know about the issue regarding Mr. Nakagawa, I think I have a heavy responsibility as the one who appointed him to the post," Mori told reporters at his official residence.
Meanwhile, opposition parties said Mori's responsibility is heavy and they jointly launch a campaign to oust him.
Nakagawa indirectly admitted having an affair with the woman on Thursday, but he flatly denied other allegations made by the magazines, which said he used illegal drugs and lied about his identity in a document for an abortion for the woman.
He also denied having links with the rightist figure mentioned by the weekly photo magazine Focus. In an edition that went on sale earlier this month, the magazine carried an undated photo of Nakagawa dining with the man.
Nakagawa is the second minister to resign from the cabinet Mori launched in July, following Kimitaka Kuze, who stepped down as chairman of the Financial Reconstruction Commission in a money-taking scandal.
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