An off-the-cuff remark about never paying for rice has cost Japan’s agriculture minister his job, as pressure mounts on the government to solve the nation’s rice crisis.

Eto, who came under fire for a quip about never having had to buy rice amid soaring prices, will be the first Cabinet minister to quit since the PM took office last October.

The remark came in the midst of a rice shortage that has infuriated voters. “Frankly, my supporters give me quite a lot of rice,” said the minister, Taku Eto.