日本经产相和法务相辞职

Two of the five female ministers in Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe\'s Cabinet have resigned.

Both resigned Monday over claims they misused political funds to buy voter support.

Allegations against Trade Minister Yuko Obuchi - daughter of a former prime minister - began to emerge last week that she spent hundreds of thousands of dollars of election funds to subsidize the purchase of theater tickets and other gifts for her home constituency.

Just hours after Obuchi resigned, Justice Minister Midori Matsushima handed in her resignation over claims that she had violated election law by distributing paper fans with her name and picture on them to voters in her district.  She said the fans should be allowed as "leaflets."

Prime Minister Abe said Monday, "I appointed them and as prime minister, I bear responsibility." He apologized to the Japanese people and said he would appoint their replacement by the end of the day.

The double resignations are the first significant problem for Mr. Abe since he swept to power in 2012, ending years of fragile governments that swapped out prime ministers on an annual basis.

Political funding scandals are a chronic problem in Japan.  However, the types of gifts and sums of money at the center of the latest allegations are relatively trivial compared with the record of previous governments.

上周有人指责前首相小渊惠三的女儿、经产相小渊优子花费数十万美元的竞选资金为她所在选区的选民购买戏院门票和其它礼物进行补贴。

在小渊经产相辞职几个小时之后，法务相松岛绿也提交辞呈。针对她的指称说，她向自己所在选区的选民散发印有她的名字和图片的纸扇子，违反了选举法。她说，这些扇子不应当被允许当作宣传单散发。

安倍首相星期一表示，“是我任命的她们，作为首相，我承担责任。”他向日本民众道歉，并表示他将在星期一指定两位辞职大臣的替代人选。

两名内阁成员一天内相继辞职，是安倍晋三2012年选举中大获全胜上台执政以来首次遇到的重大问题。安倍之前的多年间，日本政府非常脆弱，首相几乎一年一换。

政治资金丑闻问题在日本政坛多年存在，但是相比安倍之前的日本政府的记录来看，此次丑闻中礼物的类型和金额相对较小。