Tanaka Makiko quits Diet, but suspicions persist

Tanaka Makiko, former foreign minister and House of Representatives member, on August 9 tendered her resignation to the Lower House speaker before answering any questions concerning the allegation that she may have misused the money the government paid for her parliamentary secretaries.

Tanaka, whose Liberal Democratic Party membership is suspended due to the suspicions, stated, "It is regrettable that suspicions still linger in the Diet. This is why I am resigning."

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on the day commented on Tanaka's sudden resignation.

Shii said that the Lower House Deliberative Council on Political Ethics meeting on July 24 failed to dispel the suspicions that she may have misused salaries for her government-paid secretaries salaries. Pointing out that her resignation won't settle the question because she failed to fulfill her accountability for the suspicions, Shii said that the JCP will keep on demanding that the truth be revealed.

A House of Representatives by-election to fill in the vacancy in a Niigata constituency will be held in October. (end)