Tokyo: The fourth person to take the job of Japan's farm minister under embattled Prime Minister Shinzo Abe after a series of scandals today dismissed charges that he too received dirty funds.

Abe's government has been barraged by allegations of financial wrongdoing. The cloud of scandal has not lifted even after the prime minister reshuffled his cabinet 10 days ago following a major election defeat.

Farm Minister Masatoshi Wakabayashi, who only took office on Monday, maintained he had done "nothing illegal" following news reports he took money from a close aide who chairs a fisheries association subsidised by the state. The aide, who also heads a political support group for the minister, has reportedly given him $175-870 every year.

But Wakabayashi, a 73-year-old usually seen as a low-key political operator, said the funds were legal personal donations, not diverted subsidies. "It had nothing to do with subsidies. The funds were personal donations my support group's chairman made personally to help my political activities," he told reporters. "There is nothing illegal."

Chief Cabinet Secretary Kaoru Yosano also dismissed allegations of wrongdoing, saying Wakabayashi naturally developed close ties as the donor had been his boss when the future minister was a bureaucrat at the farm ministry.

Wakabayashi succeeded Takehiko Endo, who resigned over a separate money scandal just a week after the cabinet reshuffle. Wakabayashi briefly served as acting farm minister after Toshikatsu Matsuoka hanged himself in May before he was to be questioned over allegations of financial irregularities.