Japan's Agriculture Minister said he never bought rice because he got rice, which was a remark, a country facing soaring food prices, which caused public anger.

Takuetō's resignation has intensified pressure on Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, whose failure to control rice prices and address the wider cost of living crisis has angered voters ahead of the House of Lords election in July.

"I just submitted my resignation to Prime Minister Ispibon," Itil told reporters in the Prime Minister's office.

Etō claimed that he never had to buy rice but instead relied on gifts from his supporters, and Etō had faced calls for resignation.

After the government released about 300,000 tons of rice from emergency stocks earlier this year in hopes of lowering prices, Ethiopian initially expressed sympathy for the “difficulty” consumers felt. But in the fundraiser last weekend he said he “had never bought rice himself because my supporters donated to me that I could almost sell it”.

Etō will be reportedly replaced by former Environment Minister Shinjirō Koizumi, who failed to run for Ishiba last fall for the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

According to figures released in April, Etō’s comments have angered consumers, who had to pay nearly twice the amount of a bag of rice compared to a year ago.

"I asked myself if I was right for me (the Ministry of Agriculture) to take the helm at the critical moment of rice prices, and I concluded that this is not."

“Again, I apologize to people for making extremely inappropriate comments as they struggle to soar rice prices.”

Japan's shortage of rice is attributed to several factors, including a poor harvest of hot weather in 2023 and a panic buying caused by a "giant" warning in 2024.

Ishiba earlier apologized for Etō's remarks.

The ongoing rice crisis and rising household food and energy bills have masked the popularity of the Ispan government, which it faced a few weeks ago with voters in the House of Lords elections that could decide his future as prime minister.

In the recent Kyodo survey, 87% of respondents were unhappy with the government's handling of rice prices, and the approval rating for the Ishiba cabinet has dropped to its lowest since taking office in October last year.

The average price of rice sold in supermarkets in supermarkets from May 11 to 11 hit a record 4,268 yen ($29) of 5 kg, up from 4,214 yen last week, about twice the price a year ago.

In April, Japan imported rice from South Korea for the first time in a quarter of a century to address growing consumer anger.

Junya Ogawa, secretary general of the Constitutional Democratic Party of the main opposition, described Etō's comment as "extremely inappropriate, lost and intolerable".

Etō admits that his comments have angered his wife. “She told me that when the donated rice was used up, she did buy rice,” he said. “It’s not like our family living entirely on rice as a gift.”