School head accuses Abe of donation through wife
Print Edition
THE head of an ultra-nationalistic Japanese school operator at the center of a land and political scandal testified in parliament yesterday that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe donated 1 million yen (US$9,000) through his wife for an elementary school where she once was honorary principal.
Yasunori Kagoike, head of the Moritomo Gakuen group, said Akie Abe handed him the cash in an envelope on behalf of her husband during her September 2015 visit to Kagoike’s kindergarten in Osaka.
The outspoken Kagoike, who is affiliated with Japan’s powerful political lobby Nippon Kaigi and known as a big fan and supporter of Abe, said in sworn testimony at parliament that he believed there was “political influence” over his land purchase and a plan to open an elementary school.
Kagoike’s school is known for a curriculum that resembles that of pre-World War II militaristic Japan.
“I believe there was political influence one way or the other at every occasion and place (during approval process),” Kagoike said, without elaborating.
Abe has denied the donation or any influence in the scandal stemming from a 2016 state property sale to Kagoike at one-seventh of its appraised price.
Abe, who had spoken fondly about Kagoike’s education policies, has distanced himself from the man, criticizing him for being too persistent. Akie also quit from her honorary post.
Still, Abe and his wife’s ties with the man known for his extreme views on history and derogatory expressions about Chinese and Koreans have raised questions, and Abe’s support ratings have fallen over the scandal.
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