World : Japanese Planner Quits in Scandal

Japan’s senior economic planner resigned today, the third Cabinet member to step down in less than two months in connection with a stock-trading scandal that has shaken public confidence in the government.

The resignation of Ken Harada is expected to put heavy pressure on several other Cabinet members, including Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita, who have acknowledged links to the company at the center of the storm. Harada had led a parliamentary committee investigating the scandal until he became head of Japan’s Economic Planning Agency in a Dec. 27 Cabinet shuffle. In a televised news conference after his resignation, Harada acknowledged that he had received political donations from Recruit Co., but he denied any wrongdoing and said the company had “absolutely not asked for any favors” in return.