日本经产相和法务相辞职

Two of the five female ministers in Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet have resigned.

Both resigned Monday over claims they misused political funds to buy voter support.

Allegations against Trade Minister Yuko Obuchi - daughter of a former prime minister - began to emerge last week that she spent hundreds of thousands of dollars of election funds to subsidize the purchase of theater tickets and other gifts for her home constituency.

Just hours after Obuchi resigned, Justice Minister Midori Matsushima handed in her resignation over claims that she had violated election law by distributing paper fans with her name and picture on them to voters in her district.  She said the fans should be allowed as "leaflets."

Prime Minister Abe said Monday, "I appointed them and as prime minister, I bear responsibility." He apologized to the Japanese people and said he would appoint their replacement by the end of the day.

The double resignations are the first significant problem for Mr. Abe since he swept to power in 2012, ending years of fragile governments that swapped out prime ministers on an annual basis.

Political funding scandals are a chronic problem in Japan.  However, the types of gifts and sums of money at the center of the latest allegations are relatively trivial compared with the record of previous governments.