Taku Eto, Japan’s agriculture minister, has resigned after boasting that he gets free rice from his supporters and has plenty of it at home amid a shortage of the staple food.

Mr Eto tendered his resignation on Wednesday, amid public uproar over his statement on Sunday.

“I have never bought rice myself,” Mr Eto said on Sunday in a speech on the country’s agricultural policy. “Frankly, my supporters give me quite a lot of rice. I have so much rice at home that I could sell it.”

Though Mr Eto has apologised for his statement, it sparked reactions from Japanese who berated him for being insensitive about prevailing economic realities.

Some berated the Japanese government for its inability to resolve lingering rice scarcity and soaring staple food prices.

Addressing an upper house session, Prime Minister Shigeru said he “approved” Mr Eto’s resignation, taking responsibility for his minister’s statement.

Mr Ishiba described Mr Eto’s statement as “extremely unfortunate” and said, “I apologise to the Japanese people. It is my responsibility that I appointed him.”