Tokyo — Japan’s hawkish defence minister resigned on Friday over a long-brewing scandal involving the handling of military documents. Her resignation is a major political blow to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Abe, whose popularity has plummeted in recent weeks over controversies including claims that he showed favouritism to a friend in a business deal, immediately apologised to the nation over the saga. "I feel a keen responsibility," Tomomi Inada told a press conference where she announced her resignation. She called the results of an internal ministry probe which found that some officials had acted inappropriately "extremely regrettable". She also said she would return a month’s salary, despite the probe finding she had not been directly involved in the affair. The chief of staff of Japan’s Ground Self-Defence Force, the army, also resigned, as did the top ranking civil servant in the defence ministry. Abe said that Fumio Kishida, the foreign minister, would also serve as interim de...
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