Monday's resignations by Cabinet ministers Yuko Obuchi and Midori Matsushima after only six weeks in office recalls the volatility of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's first Cabinet, but financial scandals are not the preserve of the Liberal Democratic Party alone.
In December 2006, just three months into Abe's first Cabinet, Genichiro Sata was forced to resign as minister for administrative reform after his political support group was found to have reported maintenance expenses of around ¥78 million for an office that did not exist.
Sata's resignation was followed by the exits of three successive farm ministers, all of whom quit the following year amid accounting scandals.
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