... and the latest news out of that basket case banana republic have just confirmed out cynicism once again.

In a "shocking" twist of events out of the land of the rising sun banana, Japan's State Finance Minister, Kenji Kanda - best known for doing nothing and just watching as Japan's currency craters to record lows while unleashing historic inflation on the local population - has stepped down following allegations of tax evasion, delivering a fresh blow to the administration of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, which may well be the most incompetent in recent Japanese history, and which is already grappling with the departure of two other Cabinet members since the recent cabinet reshuffle in September.

According to BNN, Kanda's resignation came in the wake of a magazine report alleging that Kanda's company had defaulted on its tax payments. The Finance Minister didn't deny these claims. Instead, he confirmed that the authorities had seized his company's land and property due to non-payment of fixed asset taxes.

The opposition parties didn't let this opportunity slip by. They criticized Kanda for his financial improprieties, and there were widespread calls for his resignation. In the end, "Kanda had to bow to mounting pressure and vacate his ministerial post" or in other words, jump on the land mine and take one for the Kishida team which has at best bought itself a week or two of extra time.

The fourth-term lower house member Kanda has confessed that he had skipped compulsory annual lectures for tax accountants, as alleged by the Shukan Bunshun weekly, which also reported the tax scandal in early November.

"I became busy with national political affairs, and the weight of my tax accountant work decreased," Kanda said in a parliamentary session last week. "Demand letters and other matters were left to the staff at the tax accountant's office. I was too busy to get involved."