Soaring rice prices are stirring political trouble in Japan – history shows this often leads to a change of government

By Ming Gao, Research Scholar of East Asia Studies, Lund University
Timothy Amos, Senior Lecturer in Japanese Studies, University of Sydney

Japan’s agriculture minister, Taku Etō, resigned on May 21 just six months into his term, following a public backlash to his joke that he never buys rice because supporters give it to him for free.

Gaffes are by no means uncommon in Japanese politics. Controversial remarks by one former prime minister, Tarō Asō, were routinely followed by retractions – and the ruling Liberal Democratic party (LDP) even distributed a

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