Japan Industry Minister to Resign Over Make-up Scandal: Report

Tokyo (Antara/AFP) - Japan's industry minister is set to resign over claims she spent political donations on make-up, local media reported Saturday, in a blow to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's bid to restart nuclear power. Yuko Obuchi was named as the country's first female minister of economy, trade and industry -- a powerful portfolio that includes oversight of the energy sector -- in September. She was the most prominent of a new wave of women picked to leading Cabinet positions by Abe, and seen as a possible future prime minister of Japan. But she is now facing claims that, over the five years to 2012, her political funding body spent more than 10 million yen ($95,000) on things unconnected to politics, including cosmetics and accessories at a department store. Obuchi has told sources close to Abe that she intends to resign the ministerial post as the prime minister returns from an Asia-Europe summit in Italy on Saturday, the Nikkei business daily reported. Obuchi's political funding body also spent 3.62 million yen in a boutique run by her sister's husband, the Mainichi Shimbun daily has reported. Other newspaper reports claimed a separate Obuchi group had spent some 26 million yen on theatre tickets for supporters. Political funding rules in Japan do not explicitly bar much aside from outright bribery. They are generally interpreted to allow for spending on the running of offices and promotion of individuals.(*)