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On the morning of February 19, DPJ member Yukio Edano stood to ask questions during the House of Representatives budget committee debate and asked the Prime Minister Taro Aso for his views on Former Minister of Finance Shoichi Nakagawa, who embarrassed himself at a press conference following a G7 meeting and then finally resigned after a period of confusion.
Edano said that, whatever the cause, the responsibility for allowing such pictures to be broadcast around the world is grave and that although of course Former Minister Nakagawa must bear personal responsibility for the embarrassment, Prime Minister Aso must also bear responsibility for appointing him. He pointed out that a great number of Japanese citizens were thoroughly ashamed with the situation and worried that it could have damaged Japan's national interest. He also said the lack of an apology from the Prime Minister was troubling.
Prime Minister admitted his responsibility for appointing Nakagawa and said that he deeply regretted the unprecedented resignation of the minister responsible for the budget while the budget was still under debate. However, he also added, "When I think about people's livelihoods and the Japanese economy in the current economic situation, it is clear that the most important thing is to pass the budget and related laws. My biggest responsibility is to do all I can to ensure their early enactment."
Edano said that the Prime Minister had changed the subject in the course of his response and therefore did not seem to be taking the issue seriously. As such, he said, this is an even greater problem, and he once again asked the Prime Minister to take responsibility. Aso finally apologized for the incident by saying that "I regret that such pictures were broadcast around the world". After pointing out that the Prime Minister should have begun by apologizing to the Japanese people, Edano raised the question of the process it took for Nakagawa to resign his post, and he criticized the Prime Minister for showing absolutely no leadership during that time.
Edano continued that as the Prime Minister had simply tried to sweep away the resignation as being the result of "health problems", "he does not seem to have taken an ounce of responsibility for the huge embarrassment that was caused at the press conference in Rome". He asked why he had not apologized for the video which, at least unoriginal examination, appeared to show the Minister was drunk, even if Nakagawa did in the end resign for health reasons.
The Prime Minister repeated that such pictures of the shambles in Rome was the result of health problems. He continued that if Nakagawa were in better health, he would be able to recover, however, as his health was poor, he has been forced to offer his resignation and that he could only respect the decision of Nakagawa himself.
Watching how the Prime Minister tries to avoid responsibility and avoid giving his word during the Diet debate, Edano responded that the public would no doubt judge that the Prime Minister seemed to be aloof from the issues and did not show any conscientiousness. Edano noted, "A Cabinet which is unable to squarely face the public and offer explanations will not be able to win the trust of the public and implement economic policies." He demanded that the government "listen conscientiously to the voices of voters".
He added that the Cabinet's failure to listen to voters' voices was the reason why the Cabinet's response to the current incident was being scrutinized, and finished his questions by stating, "given the Prime Minister's attitude and [lack of] leadership, we will unfortunately have to continue to press the Prime Minister to take responsibility for the situation".
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