Scandal-hit MOF official to get up to 53m yen on retirement

April 23, 2018

Tokyo- Up to 53 million yen will be paid in retirement allowance to Vice Minister of Fiance Junichi Fukuda, who tendered his resignation last week following a media report accusing him of sexual harassment, it was learned Monday.

At a joint hearing of opposition parties held in parliament the same day, an official of the Ministry of Finance said the figure is the "mechanically calculated" amount, with no cut in the payment as a punishment.

The government is arranging approval of Fukuda's resignation on Tuesday.

Opposition party lawmakers who took part in the hearing called for early punishment of Fukuda, saying that sexual harassment will be overlooked if his resignation is approved without any disciplinary action.

Fukuda said he decided to resign because it became difficult for him to perform his job following the report alleging that he had sexually harassed female reporters. He denied the allegation.

The MOF has taken no disciplinary action against Fukuda so far, citing the need for further investigations.

Minister of Finance Taro Aso, who returned to Japan on Sunday from a visit to the United States, ignored reporters on arrival at the ministry on Monday morning when asked about the investigations and whether he would resign or not himself to take responsibility for appointing Fukuda. Jiji Press