22/05/2025

THURSDAY | MAY 22, 2025

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Japanese farm minister resigns following rice gaffe

the helm. So I’m keeping most of the ministers in their current roles during this critical period.” The PAP won nearly two-thirds of the vote in an election that was seen as a bellwether of its popularity amid some signs of disenchantment with cost of living in the Asian financial hub, whose six million people have known no other kind of government since independence in 1965. The reshuffle is Wong’s biggest since taking over as premier in May last year from Lee Hsien Loong. Most ministers appointed by Lee were retained in Wong’s last reshuffle. Wong has promised “new blood, new ideas and new energy” and fielded 32 new faces in the election in May for 97 house seats. Wong gave ministerial portfolios to two newly elected lawmakers. He also appointed three ministers as coordinating ministers for national security, public services, and health. – Reuters THAI CELEB JAILED FOR GUN, DRUG OFFENCES BANGKOK: Thailand’s Supreme Court has jailed one of the kingdom’s best-known rock stars for more than three years on gun possession and drugs charges. Seksan Sukpimai, better known by his stage name Sek Loso, was convicted of illegal gun possession, drug use and obstructing a police officer. The 50-year-old founder and lead singer of Loso , one of Thailand’s most successful rock bands, has long been a staple of gossip columns. He was first arrested in 2017 after firing a gun following a concert. The court ordered Seksan to serve two years, 12 months and 20 days in jail. – AFP TEXTILE GIANT SRITEX PRESIDENT ARRESTED JAKARTA: The president of bankrupt Indonesian textile giant Sritex has been arrested as part of a corruption investigation, Indonesia’s Attorney General’s Office said yesterday. The AGO said the arrest of Iwan Kurniawan Lukminto was due to alleged irregularities related to a bank loan provided to Sritex. It did not provide details of the case, the size of the loan or which lender provided it. Sritex was declared bankrupt at the end of last year as it struggled to service its debts, which reached US$1.6 billion (RM6.8 billion) in June. It stopped operations on March 1 after failing in its appeal against the bankruptcy ruling. – Reuters PHILIPPINES, U.S. COAST GUARD JOINT DRILLS MANILA: The Philippine and US coast guards took part for the first time in joint military drills joining broader exercises held by the two allies. The “maritime cooperative activity” was held on Tuesday in the western Philippines. The two countries’ coast guards have held joint exercises before, but never as part of combined military drills which Manila said reflected a “whole-of-nation approach to maritime cooperation”. The Philippine coast guard deployed its 97m ship BRP Melchora Aquino and 44m ship BRP Malapascua while the US coast guard used the cutter Stratton . – AFP

BR I E F S

access” quota agreed under World Trade Organisation rules. Eto’s departure threatens Ishiba’s already-shaky grip on power ahead of key upper house elections in July. His LDP and its junior coalition partner Komeito lost their majority in the more powerful lower house in a snap election Ishiba called in October shortly after taking office. Eto’s resignation is the first from Ishiba’s Cabinet excluding ministers who had lost their seats in elections. A Kyodo News opinion poll on Sunday showed support for Ishiba at a record low 27.4%, with nearly nine out of 10 voters dissatisfied with the government’s response to soaring rice prices. – Reuters

responsibilities but in my mind, what I need to focus on right now is simply rice. I’m going into this job with the mindset that I am essentially the ‘minister in charge of rice,’” he said. Koizumi, who previously served as the head of the Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) agriculture and forestry division, said there would be no sacred cows in his efforts to lower rice prices, and that a strong political will would be needed to achieve those goals. Rice farmers are traditionally a strong support base for the long governing LDP, and Japan protects the rice market with hefty levies beyond the tariff-free “minimum

o Ex-environment minister Koizumi takes over

TOKYO: Japanese farm minister Taku Eto resigned yesterday after remarks he made about rice triggered a firestorm of criticism from voters and lawmakers, posing a fresh challenge to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s embattled government. Eto has been in hot water since media reports exposed comments he made at a weekend political fundraising party that he had “never had to buy rice” thanks to gifts from supporters. The comment led to a frenzy of criticism from voters, already angry about the historically high price of the staple food due to a poor harvest and elevated demand from a boom in tourism. “I made an extremely inappropriate remark at a time when citizens are suffering from soaring rice prices,” Eto told reporters after handing in his resignation at the prime minister’s office. Ishiba appointed former environment minister Shinjiro Koizumi as his replacement at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), saying he was counting on his reform-minded stance to produce results. “Koizumi is someone who has experience, insights, and passion for reforms on agriculture and fisheries,” Ishiba said. The doubling of rice prices from last year has become a top concern for Japanese voters, long accustomed to years of deflation and suffering from stubbornly low inflation adjusted wages. The government has been releasing rice since March from its emergency stockpile to tame prices, but that has had little impact. Data on Monday showed retail prices rising again in the week organisers said, in a bid to fly from London, climb the highest peak and return home within seven days. The four men, who include government minister Alistair Carns, left London on Friday, pre acclimatised to the low oxygen at high altitudes, including the controversial assistance of xenon gas. The men, who slept in low-oxygen tents before departure from Britain, are raising funds for charities. “All four of them, along with a photographer and five Sherpa team reached the summit at 7.10am,” said expedition organiser Lukas Furtenbach, of Austria-based Furtenbach Adventures. The team, who also include Garth Miller, Anthony Stazicker and Kevin Godlington, are now descending from the 8,849m peak. “They will descend to the base camp by evening and, weather permitting, will be back home within

through May 11 after falling for the first time in 18 weeks. That has increasingly led to retailers and consumers seeking out cheaper, foreign rice. “What’s on everyone’s mind right now are the soaring rice prices and anxiety over whether there’s enough of it in the market, and I want to dispel these concerns,” said Koizumi, whose father Junichiro pushed through sweeping reforms and deregulation as prime minister in the 2000s. “(MAFF) covers a wide range of

Koizumi (left) speaks to media at Ishiba’s official residence in Tokyo yesterday. – REUTERSPIC

British climbers summit Everest in record bid KATHMANDU: A British team of ex-special forces soldiers summited Everest yesterday, expedition low oxygen levels heighten the risk of altitude sickness.

S’pore PM sticks with ‘experienced hands’ in Cabinet reshuffle SINGAPORE: Prime Minister

seven days,” Furtenbach said. The team is raising money for veterans’ charities, especially focused on supporting children whose parents were killed in conflict. “I’ve seen, on operations in Afghanistan, individuals who haven’t returned,” said Carns, 45, who carried out five tours of Afghanistan. Carns, a colonel in the Royal Marine reserves, is the most highly decorated British lawmaker since World War II. “I think, from my perspective, doing something to support those children left behind is the most honourable thing we can do,” he said. For decades, the dream of reaching the summit of Mount Everest has required at least two months on the mountain doing a series of acclimatisation rotations. But the team took a different route, heading directly to Everest’s base camp on Saturday, straight after arriving from London. Areas above 8,000m are known as the “death zone” because thin air and

They pre-acclimatised at home using hypoxic tents and special training techniques, before being administered xenon gas two weeks before departure. Inhaling the gas prompts production of the hormone erythropoietin in the body, which encourages the formation of oxygen carrying red blood cells. “Xenon seems to provide protective mechanisms to prevent high altitude sickness, which is mainly triggered by a lack of oxygen. Xenon increases erythropoietin and thereby haemoglobin. The body is able to transport more oxygen,” said Dr Michael Fries. “You can say that xenon inhalation mimics the effects of a classical rotation to high altitude.” The men are not the fastest to climb Everest – the record is held by Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa, who climbed from base camp to the summit in 10 hours and 56 minutes in 2003. – AFP

Lawrence Wong announced a Cabinet reshuffle yesterday, with the premier retaining nine ministers as well as the finance portfolio he has held since 2021. Wong, who led the ruling People’s Action Party to a decisive win on May 3 in his first election as premier, appointed six new ministers to the 15 portfolios excluding his office, in a move to retain experienced players during an uncertain time for the economy. Wong, 52, kept the key roles unchanged, with Trade Minister Gan Kim Yong remaining deputy premier. He did not appoint a second deputy, unlike with previous Singapore Cabinets. “We are operating in a changed world, with rising trade barriers, sharper competition, and greater uncertainty,” Wong said in an announcement by his office. “We need experienced hands at