Following the resignation of Minister Akira Amari, sarcastic reactions flooded China’s Weibo, questioning why a politician would resign over one million yen. Reports by Xinhua, CCTV, and South Korea’s Yonhap News further highlight the stark contrast between Japan’s political standards and those of neighboring countries.

On “Weibo,” there were comments such as, “Is he resigning over a corruption amount of one million yen?” and “In China, even much larger sums would not be a problem. Is this the difference in national circumstances?”
January 30, 2016.

In yesterday’s Sankei Shimbun, I encountered a reference to China’s short-form posting site, “Weibo,” for the first time in a long while.

It was in a small boxed article on page three, within a report on how various countries were reacting to the resignation of Minister Amari.

The emphasis in the text is mine.

“Beijing, Seoul, London = Kyodo.” China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency (English edition) reported on the 28th that Economic Revitalization Minister Akira Amari had acknowledged receiving cash and announced his resignation, also noting that he had been the person in charge of negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). China Central Television likewise reported the matter together with footage of the press conference, demonstrating the high level of interest.

Meanwhile, on the short-form posting site “Weibo,” sarcastic comments appeared one after another, such as: “Is he resigning over a bribery amount of one million yen?” “In China, far larger sums wouldn’t even be a problem. Is this the difference in national character?” and “His skin is far too thin.”

South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported that “a close minister to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has made a disgraceful resignation over corruption allegations, and the administration is expected to suffer a blow.”

Omitted thereafter.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/1cstF9s2uyI