is a Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 of the Liberal Democratic Party

Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)

The , frequently abbreviated to LDP or , is a centre-right political party in Japan. It is one of the most consistently successful political parties in the democratic world. The LDP ruled almost continuously for nearly 54 years from its founding in 1955 until its defeat in the 2009 election...

, a member of the House of Representatives

House of Representatives of Japan

The is the lower house of the Diet of Japan. The House of Councillors of Japan is the upper house.The House of Representatives has 480 members, elected for a four-year term. Of these, 180 members are elected from 11 multi-member constituencies by a party-list system of proportional representation,...

 in the Diet

Diet of Japan

The is Japan's bicameral legislature. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives, and an upper house, called the House of Councillors. Both houses of the Diet are directly elected under a parallel voting system. In addition to passing laws, the Diet is formally...

 (national legislature).

A native of Makabe District, Ibaraki

Makabe District, Ibaraki

Makabe was a district located in Ibaraki, Japan.As of the Chikusei merger, but with 2003 population data, the district had an estimated population of 26,699 and a density of 288 persons per km²...

 and graduate of the University of Tokyo

University of Tokyo

, abbreviated as , is a major research university located in Tokyo, Japan. The University has 10 faculties with a total of around 30,000 students, 2,100 of whom are foreign. Its five campuses are in Hongō, Komaba, Kashiwa, Shirokane and Nakano. It is considered to be the most prestigious university...

, he worked at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Japan)

The ' a cabinet ministry in the government of Japan responsible for oversight of the agriculture, forestry and fishing industries. Its acronym is MAFF.-History:...

 from 1983 to 1988. He was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time in 1990.

Akagi took office as Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Japan)

The , or , is the Cabinet of Japan member in charge of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. The current minister is Michihiko Kano.-Role:...

 after the suicide of his predecessor, Toshikatsu Matsuoka

Toshikatsu Matsuoka

was a Japanese politician. He served as the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries from September 26, 2006 under the Abe cabinet. He committed suicide in 2007 in the middle of a financial scandal.- Biography :...

, in May 2007. Not even two months after being inaugurated, Akagi found himself indicted in a political funding scandal

Scandal

A scandal is a widely publicized allegation or set of allegations that damages the reputation of an institution, individual or creed...

 not entirely different from the one his predecessor had been embroiled in - he was alleged to have registered multi-million yen expenditures on an office which did not exist. Akagi was asked to make receipts official but refused. On July 17, he appeared at a press conference with two adhesive plasters on his face, puzzling reporters but still refusing to make receipts official.

Akagi resigned as Minister on August 1, 2007 after the upper house election

Japanese House of Councillors election, 2007

The for the upper house of the legislature of Japan were held on July 29, 2007. This was the only time Prime Minister Shinzō Abe had faced an election...

. Minister of the Environment

Minister of the Environment (Japan)

The is the member of the Cabinet of Japan in charge of the Ministry of the Environment. The post has been held by Goshi Hosono since 2 September 2011.- Minister of the Environment :...

, Masatoshi Wakabayashi

Masatoshi Wakabayashi

is a Japanese politician who is a member of Liberal Democratic Party.Wakabayashi became the third Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries appointed in Shinzō Abe's first cabinet after Toshikatsu Matsuoka killed himself as a result of financial scandal and Matsuoka's successor Norihiko Akagi...

, became concurrent Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and stayed until August 27, 2007 when Shinzō Abe

Shinzo Abe

was the 90th Prime Minister of Japan, elected by a special session of the National Diet on 26 September 2006. He was Japan's youngest post–World War II prime minister and the first born after the war. Abe served as prime minister for nearly twelve months, before resigning on 12 September 2007...

 announced a new cabinet. Akagi's virtual successor was Takehiko Endo

Takehiko Endo

is a Japanese politician who is a member of Liberal Democratic Party, serving in the House of Representatives in the Diet of Japan. On September 3, 2007, due to the financial scandal, he resigned as Minister of Agriculture just 8 days after he was appointed to the post...

appointed on August 27.

External links

• Official website in Japanese.