By Veronica Rossini

The Financial Times reported that the agriculture minister allegedly received payoffs from companies that had been awarded contracts by Japan’s Green Resources Agency (J-Green), which, being affiliated with the ministry of agriculture, also was headed by Mr. Matsuoka.

The scandal took a macabre turn when former J-Green Chief Executive Shinichi Yokohama jumped to his death on 29 May, a day after he was questioned over bid-rigging in public contracts, reports Kyodo News.

The suicides have added to the woes of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has seen his popularity plummet due to a series of financial scandals that have plagued his administration since his election in September 2006.

According to Jeff Kingston, Professor of Asian Studies at Tokyo Temple University, quoted in the Financial Times, “There’s a widespread perception that the whole political process remains rotten despite all this talk of reform.”

By Stephanie Don

The South China Morning Post quoted official statements by the court saying, “the sentence was appropriate because of ‘the huge bribes involved and the great damage inflicted on the country and the public by Zheng’s dereliction of duty,” and noted that the sentence came amid a growing number of international food safety and phoney drug scandals that have turned the world’s attention to China’s poorly regulated monitoring system.

The New York Times cited a case where “two Chinese companies were accused earlier this year of shipping contaminated pet food ingredients to the United States, resulting in one of the largest pet food recalls in American history.”

An editorial by a “specially commissioned commentator” in the party’s official paper indicated that Zheng’s sentence was a warning to other party officials. China Daily reprinted the admonition: “As a case study of a party member and leading official breaking the law and committing crime, the Zheng Xiaoyu case offers profound lessons that all public servants, especially leading officials at ever level, should take to heart.” The paper also suggested that the commentary may have been issued on behalf of national leaders.

By Veronica Rossini

On 22 May, Brazil’s Mines and Energy Minister Silas Rodenau resigned after the federal police accused him of being involved in a corruption scandal involving a construction company, reports the Financial Times. The following week, news magazine Veja* accused the leader of the senate Renan Calheiros of accepting bribes from one of Brazil’s largest construction companies, Mendes Junior. The International Herald Tribune specified that the magazine did not name its sources.

The accusations against Mr Rodenau were the culmination of a year-long investigation called Operation Razor, which led to the arrests of 48 people including civil servants, a mayor and the former governor of the state of Maranhão.

According to ANSA, police evidence shows that Mr Rodenau accepted bribes amounting to US $50,000 in order to ensure that a public contract would be awarded to construction company Gautama.

Mr Rodenau has denied the graft allegations, reaffirming his “complete and absolute innocence in relation to the accusations levied against [him]”, writes the International Herald Tribune. Similarly, Mr Calheiros has denied any wrongdoing, rejecting the magazine’s accusation of “receiv[ing] any illegal or clandestine funds from any company or businessman.”

*This article may be unavailable for some viewers as it requires a subscription.