首相高市早苗提名竹部新为她的新任农业大臣，以遏制自她上任以来首次因丑闻而导致的内阁辞职所带来的冲击。
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi nominated Arata Takebe to be her new agriculture minister as she sought to contain the fallout from the first scandal-linked cabinet resignation since she took power.
竹部新是前农业省副大臣，曾就读于芝加哥大学，他将在矢野和夫于周三辞职后接任此职。矢野曾被指控规避选举规则，并威胁削减不支持他的地方财政拨款。
Arata Takebe, a former vice minister in the Agriculture Ministry who previously attended Chicago University, will take up the role after Kazuo Yana stood down Wednesday. Yana had been linked to allegations of circumventing electoral rules and threats to cut funding to localities that didn’t support him.
高市在周四对记者说：“我提名竹部先生是因为我相信他能够立即上岗，包括处理议会事务，并且作为一位对农业行政有深厚了解的人能够出色胜任。”
“I nominated Mr. Takebe because I believe he can jump right into the job, including handling parliamentary affairs, and excel as a person who has deep knowledge of agricultural administration,” Takaichi said to reporters on Thursday.
她补充说，希望看到竹部利用他的专业知识帮助振兴日本的农业和渔业产业，发展农村地区，强化粮食安全，并推进日本的食品技术。
She added that she hoped to see Takebe use his expertise to help revitalize Japan’s agriculture and fisheries industries, develop rural areas, strengthen food security and advance Japan’s food technology.
首相此前曾抵制要求矢野辞职的呼声，原因是他在二月份大选中声称削减了不支持他的市镇的道路工程经费。随后，舆论转向，因为有指控称他可能通过安排免费交通前往选举启动集会，违反日本严格的选举法，有媒体认为此举等同于买票。
The premier had resisted earlier calls to have Yana step down over reports he claimed to have cut roadworks funding to municipalities that didn’t support him in February’s general election. The tide then turned after allegations surfaced that he might also have transgressed Japan’s strict electoral laws by arranging free transportation to an election kickoff rally, a move some media suggested was tantamount to vote-buying.
一项削减食品和饮料消费税的法案原本将成为本次议会会议的主要议程，但矢野的不当行为指控时常主导了辩论。
A bill to cut the sales tax on food items and beverages was set to be the main agenda of the current parliamentary session, but allegations over Yana’s misconduct have dominated the debate at times.
政府发言人木原实在周四表示：“矢野大臣已向首相递交辞呈，称他不能让自己的在场进一步扰乱国会审议，也阻碍他专注于农业行政。”
“Minister Yana has submitted his resignation to the Prime Minister, stating that he cannot allow for his presence to cause further disruption to Diet deliberations and prevent him from focusing on the administration of agriculture,” top government spokesperson Minoru Kihara said Thursday.
高市内阁继续获得较高的公众支持；目前尚不清楚雅娜的辞职是否会对她本人产生负面影响。根据日本国家广播公司（NHK）的最新民意调查，雅娜的公众支持率为51%，虽然比上个月略有下降，但仍高于其他现任首相的支持率。
Takaichi’s administration continues to receive relatively high public support and it isn’t clear whether Yana’s exit would reflect badly on her. The latest opinion poll by national broadcaster NHK puts her public support at 51%, a fraction down from last month, but still above recent premiers.
尚不清楚公众会如何看待雅娜的辞职——是认为这只是高市迅速、妥善处理的一个个别事件，还是会认为这一事件会引发连锁反应，进而动摇整个内阁的稳定性。
It remains to be seen if Yana’s resignation will be viewed by the public as an isolated case that Takaichi responded to swiftly and appropriately or if it will have a domino effect that unsettles her cabinet.
周四在被任命为新首相后，武部对记者表示，雅娜辞职的背景“非常不幸”，并强调农业政策需要具备透明度。
Speaking to reporters after his nomination on Thursday, Takebe said the circumstances surrounding Yana’s resignation were “very unfortunate” and spoke of the need for transparency in agricultural policy.