Sho Takebe became agriculture, forestry and fisheries minister on October 15, replacing Kazunao Yana, who announced his resignation the same day. Within days of taking office, allegations of election-law violations began surfacing one after another.
Takebe, 56, is suspected of building a slush fund of about ¥30 million, according to reporting by Shukan Bunshun. The allegations against him do not stop there.
He also faces suspicion of vote-buying — paying campaign workers — in the 2024 House of Representatives election, and of accepting illegal donations in the same race, both violations of the Public Offices Election Act. That makes two separate election-law allegations already.
A campaign across Hokkaido's 12th district
Takebe fought the 2024 election in Hokkaido's 12th district, which runs from Cape Soya to the Shiretoko Peninsula and is the largest in Japan by area. What kind of campaign he ran there is the question at the center of the allegations.
On October 18, at a meeting in the city of Kitami, Hokkaido, Takebe spoke before a small group of trusted supporters. "Please don't tell anyone," he began, according to Shukan Bunshun, which also reported audio of what it described as threatening remarks.
A separate report alleged that ¥860,000 went to a cameraman.
The resignation of Yana and the appointment of his successor have put a minister under scrutiny for campaign conduct in the same election cycle in which he won his seat.