Japan Sports Minister Hakubun Shimomura Resigns Over Tokyo Stadium Mess

Japan Sports Minister Hakubun Shimomura, a close conservative ally of PM Shinzo Abe, "has tendered his resignation over the scrapping of plans for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics centerpiece stadium after a cost blowout," according to Sieg & Kaneko of REUTERS. Shimomura told a post-cabinet meeting news conference on Friday that Abe "had asked him to stay on until a cabinet reshuffle planned for next month." Kyodo reported he "will return half his pay for the six months through September in atonement." Shimomura: "I have caused great worry and trouble to many of the people over the national stadium problem." Japanese media reported a third-party panel "examining the cost blowout blamed both the Japan Sports Council, a state-run body overseeing the project, and the sports ministry." Abe, who was formally re-elected as ruling Liberal Democratic Party chief on Thursday, "plans to reshuffle his cabinet in early October" (REUTERS, 9/24).