Japan agriculture minister quits over tainted rice

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Japan's agriculture minister resigned Friday over widespread sales of mold- and pesticide-tainted rice used to make lunches for thousands of schoolchildren and nursing home patients. Seiichi Ota said he submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, who announced his own resignation just two weeks ago over a political stalemate in parliament. Ota assumed his post in August. "I met with Prime Minister Fukuda and told him my decision to resign, considering the seriousness of the tainted rice problem for the society," Ota said. National broadcaster NHK reported Fukuda had accepted the resignation. Japanese consumers have been horrified in recent weeks over the discovery of rice tainted with pesticides and mold being served to thousands of people. The rice was imported for use in industry, such as the manufacture of glue, but was instead distributed inside Japan as food.