It is official now.
14:21 Kyōdō news wire
"Farm Minister Matsuoka dies at hospital..."
Bloody [speak no ill of the dead].
What did killing yourself accomplish?
Later - When I am ready, I will think about the political implications of all this.
Just think, today had started out so well, the air crisp. the sun so bright.
A bit later still - NHK is reporting that Matsuoka's is the first suicide by a sitting Cabinet Minister in the postwar era.
That sounds about right--so please, no "sociological inclination toward suicide" claptrap.
Not right now.
Do you ever have any further thoughts on Matsuoka's suicide?
ReplyDeleteanonymous -
ReplyDeleteNothing particularly complex...only that if Abe Shinzō had had the decency to let Matsuoka step down when it becamse clear that the agriculture minister's position was no longer tenable, then there is a good chance that Mrs. Matsuoka would still have a husband today.
Then again, a few months later Aso Tarō showed exactly as much empathy and thoughtfulness toward a deteriorating Abe as Abe had shown toward an emotionally drained Matsuoka.
As the cliché tells us, what goes around comes around.