TOKYO, Japan (AP) -- Japan's agricultural minister died Monday after reportedly hanging himself just hours before he was to face questioning in parliament over a political scandal, officials said.
Toshikatsu Matsuoka, 62, was found in his apartment Monday unconscious and rushed to a hospital, where he was declared dead hours later, a Tokyo Metropolitan Police official said.
"We've just confirmed that he is dead," said the spokesman, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of department policy.
Matsuoka had faced heavy criticism over a scandal involving suspicious bookkeeping practices in his offices, and was scheduled to appear before a parliamentary committee Monday afternoon for further questioning.
Government officials confirmed Matsuoka was hospitalized on Monday, but Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki refused to confirm widespread reports the minister hanged himself from a door in his apartment.
The reports of suicide were a blow to the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which has been buffeted by scandal and has seen a recent plunge in support ratings.
Support for Abe's Cabinet fell to 32 percent, down 11 percentage points from a similar poll in April, a survey by the national newspaper Mainichi, taken over the weekend, showed Monday.
The government's disapproval rating rose to 44 percent, up from 33 percent, the Mainichi said. A separate poll by the Nikkei business daily showed Abe's popularity falling to 41 percent, down 12 percentage points from the previous month. His disapproval rating rose to 44 percent from 37 percent.
Both Mainichi and Nikkei cited dissatisfaction with the government's apparent loss of pension payment records for millions of people. It was the latest problem for Abe's government, which has faced financial scandals involving several Cabinet ministers.
Matsuoka had also been dogged by scandal.
He apologized publicly just three days after taking office for not declaring 1 million yen ($8,500) in political donations from a scandal-linked group. He acknowledged the undeclared funds, which came in the form of purchased tickets to a fundraising party, saying he was unaware the contributions had not been reported.
Matsuoka had since corrected his political funds report for 2005.
Japan's political funds law requires politicians to declare such donations when they exceed 200,000 yen ($1,700), Kyodo News said. The contributions came from the World Business Expert Forum, a group associated with scandal-hit business consultant FAC, which was raided by authorities in June on suspicion of illegally collecting funds from investors, Kyodo said.
Japan's suicide rate is among the highest in the industrialized world. More than 32,000 Japanese took their own lives in 2004, the bulk of them older Japanese suffering financial woes as the country struggled through a decade of economic stagnation.
Toshikatsu Matsuoka, 62, was found in his apartment Monday unconscious and rushed to a hospital, where he was declared dead hours later, a Tokyo Metropolitan Police official said.
"We've just confirmed that he is dead," said the spokesman, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of department policy.
Matsuoka had faced heavy criticism over a scandal involving suspicious bookkeeping practices in his offices, and was scheduled to appear before a parliamentary committee Monday afternoon for further questioning.
Government officials confirmed Matsuoka was hospitalized on Monday, but Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki refused to confirm widespread reports the minister hanged himself from a door in his apartment.
The reports of suicide were a blow to the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which has been buffeted by scandal and has seen a recent plunge in support ratings.
Support for Abe's Cabinet fell to 32 percent, down 11 percentage points from a similar poll in April, a survey by the national newspaper Mainichi, taken over the weekend, showed Monday.
The government's disapproval rating rose to 44 percent, up from 33 percent, the Mainichi said. A separate poll by the Nikkei business daily showed Abe's popularity falling to 41 percent, down 12 percentage points from the previous month. His disapproval rating rose to 44 percent from 37 percent.
Both Mainichi and Nikkei cited dissatisfaction with the government's apparent loss of pension payment records for millions of people. It was the latest problem for Abe's government, which has faced financial scandals involving several Cabinet ministers.
Matsuoka had also been dogged by scandal.
He apologized publicly just three days after taking office for not declaring 1 million yen ($8,500) in political donations from a scandal-linked group. He acknowledged the undeclared funds, which came in the form of purchased tickets to a fundraising party, saying he was unaware the contributions had not been reported.
Matsuoka had since corrected his political funds report for 2005.
Japan's political funds law requires politicians to declare such donations when they exceed 200,000 yen ($1,700), Kyodo News said. The contributions came from the World Business Expert Forum, a group associated with scandal-hit business consultant FAC, which was raided by authorities in June on suspicion of illegally collecting funds from investors, Kyodo said.
Japan's suicide rate is among the highest in the industrialized world. More than 32,000 Japanese took their own lives in 2004, the bulk of them older Japanese suffering financial woes as the country struggled through a decade of economic stagnation.
