#moritomo gakuen scandal

[orenonahaichigoda]

I had a rough day, and came to a realisation. I will say a bit about my own experience, and then, after having to lay the groundwork of explaining 400 things about Japan because American schools and media think the whole world is the US, Western Europe, and places to blow up, making explaining necessary, will tie it to Ichigo, or at least how I portray him.

I'm Post Dankai Juniors, growing up in Japan. So's Kubo, actually. The boundaries of this Japanese generation are roughly '75 to '85, Yutori, the following generation that's always translated and localised as Millennial, pretty solidly set as beginning at '86. These things are always fuzzy because you can't vivisect living brains and find the part that likes char siu buns and the part that likes jazz fusion. I *majored* in Social Science. You'll have teachers who say "it is absolute that we date people who are similar to us because we're all actually narcists." (It *might* be because they're like our beloved family or community. Narcistic Personality is not universal) But it really just is fuzzy, and that teacher/book author is an idiot. Anyway, Yutori is always translated as Millennial. I don't know the end boundary. Post Dankai Juniors covers almost totally a debated throe for Germanic nations (I know Britain, Germany, and Nederland use the same generations as America, and their languages are Germanic) because of how fuzzy it all is, though.

Anyway, so since coming to the US, my interactions with other Asians, again, how is this defined when China, Mongolia, Japan all border Russia and West Asia includes Jordan and Saudi Arabia, South Asia is India's area, Southeast Asia is Laos, Thailand's area, I mean, find the Arabic kanji. I don't think Thailand even uses soy sauce. What the heck IS Asia, really? (Or "Middle East" when half of that's Africa and the other half shares plate with Europe? )

Anyway, my experience with Asians that are Boomer ages tends to be people who immigrated as adults, who more identity with a generation like "Dankai" or "Sirake." My experiences with Latinos older than me... I've never actually asked if the generational labels are even the same.

The thing about that is that when the name is the same, it means enough cultural traits are shared.

My biggest experience with people who grew up under the term "Boomer" are Black and white.

I've noticed a unifying trait.

If they're something oppressed (Black, gay), their attitude tends to be"it is mandatory to stand up for *my* demograph...but kicking the person behind me on the ladder in the teeth is wholesome, pure, and fun."

Outing me to large groups and saying I "speak Asian" seem to be the most common two. Calling me "Chinese" long after I've cleared this up for them is a close third.

I mean, don't get me wrong--my experience with Italian Americans past GI generation has been that now acquiring the "white" label, just like biphobic/aphobic/transphobic cisgays, they're more often staunch priveledge defenders than cishet people of Anglo descent! And it's just as true for X and Y as it is for Boomer (for the latter, one need only look at NYC destroyer and trump defender Giuliani) I actually don't really identify with my Italian side at all because I was kinda locked out of making any meaningful connection.

But back to my point that even in so-leftist-it's-almost-not-America Bay Area, Boomers are still like this!

The kind of stuff that flows out a X/Y TERF's mouth, or the mouth of an X/Y person with a Confederate flag on his wall, American-raised Boomers say with ease regardless of their alignment! It's banananas.

(Please note that I also just have not met a whole lot of Native Americans, period, nor enough people significantly older than me from any one place in Africa, that was an omission of lacking data, not intended as erasure)

How I tie it to Ichigo--

So Kubo avoids specifying birth years for anyone.

When I see something like this, I generally assume date of publication, as do most people in most fandoms (which of course gets screwy when you have something endlessly rebooted like Superman or Batman or something eternally unchanging like Detective Conan)

Anyway, the first Bleach something published was the comic in '01.

I generally assume it was supposed to be the start of a new school year, as Ichigo doesn't know many of his classmates until at least the first test scores come out. So it's probably April or something.

If Ichigo was 15 then, he'd also be Post Dankai Juniors, just barely. If Ichigo TURNED 15 shortly after, during his adventure, he'd be undebatably Millennial.

Now, there is still something up with Dankai and Sirake. PM Abe is the latter, b. 1954. A lot of his age-peers are behind him. This is the guy who supports remilitarisation and was caught funding a private militarist/fascist high(?) school that teaches that people from countries Japan conquered during its brief phase of trying to beat colonial Europe are less than dogs.

Now, I left there as a teen. Clinton was US president. Scandals still got people kicked out of public office in Japan. I hadn't figured or come out yet. Sure, I got bullied for being mixed, but kids will pick if you like different singers than the "cool" ones. They'll pick based on what's in your lunch. That data is sausage.

I'm not 100% sure what Ichigo would face day-to-day sociopolitically as he grew up/aged. I haven't had living family since'95 there, and friendships don't get deep enough to ever last distance until at least high school. For me, adulthood.

But I've kept/caught up enough (you try keeping up in the South before the internet was more than ten University sites!) that I know he'd face fascists (c'mon, the guy takes on a martial law government to save a new friend--that's anarchist, he just doesn't seem anarchist in his own world. He only fights humans in defence) I'm not sure how he'd feel about the JSDF, but he only fought the sinigami's war out of feeling like it was his responsibility because the adults around him kinda made it so. I super don't see him being for *starting* wars. In a human war, I see him actually being like Sugihara Chiune, a historical figure who died when I was a kid who I majorly admire. He worked at a Japanese embassy in Nazi territory, and when the embassy was evacuated,he continued throwing passports to Jewish people to go to Japan from the train he was departing on,and is hidden from Americans in the same spirit that Martin Luther King is...pulled the teeth out of. (PS, speaking of,go Google Steven Kiyosi Kuromiya)

Also, Ichigo's whole schtick is defending those worse off than him. He's not someone I see defending Yamato Japanese priveledge. Heck, I could see him joining Uchinanchu efforts to get Parliament and the US base to leave them alone. I can easily see him sticking up for a Filipino domestic worker he met thirty seconds ago.

To this end, I think regardless of what he is, he'd have a large rub with Japan's equivalents of Boomers.

Not to mention that Abe supporters tend to be very sexist and queerphobic, which isn't even homegrown but imported from Américanisation. I mean, there were female warriors--assasins, which is what Yoruichi and Soi-Fon are styled after, and go look at some Ukiyoe, like Utagawa Kitamaro. Quite a few artists in the 200-ish years of the Edo period depicted life in the queer districts. I've also had people posit that Noh might've been a welcoming draw for trans people the same way drag was all over the US in the twentieth century and still is in rural areas, where there's less cisgay gatekeeping. But this isn't something I can reasonably research without access to plenty of older and not well known dusty documents, and lots of time, and I live in the US many years now. And do you know how much round trip airfare alone is!? Also, the language changed so much and I can't read anything before Meiji without dropping words. Rukia, Byakuya, Yoruichi all have made for TV old-sounding Japanese like period dramas. Actual 18th Century Japanese would be unintelligible to the unspecialised.

So this stuff isn't really native, but Abe and a lot of people his age support all these -isms.

I super don't see Ichigo being happy about this.

(I also feel like Issin's old enough to remember before these -isms, but that's my own thing. In my project, he was in those districts, but that's me)

At the same time, I'm still writing this through my own lens. Also, not still being there, I just don't have enough data on Yutori in adulthood, or the grown Yutori lens. Honestly, even most other immigrants I meet are older than that. Or older than that and their adorable three year old children. So I have no clue.

In the early 2000s, I got myself from the South to CA and began to reconnect, but began to is the key phrase. I can tell you right now that Abe is as much of a second phase of Nakasone as trump is of Nakasone's buddy Regean. But what shifted when, I can't say. I'm not entirely sure how Koizumi ran the ship, as it were. I know some things, but not enough to say.

But whenever things shifted however, and whichever year Ichigo was born, I just cannot imagine him being any more on board with current events than really anyone in my area not born between 1946-1964 and raised in America.

I feel like he'd probably be too tired or self-effacing to fight for himself, but he'd take on, loud and proud, any bigotry against *others.*

I...also can't really say I'm much different, except my joints are held together by the power of wishes, so I'm more like "get the victim to safety" than "give the attacker plenty of regret." So, I can only do anything in limited ways.

Ichigo is also entirely fuelled by the power of love. Lost his ability to protect and feels like his sinigami friends ditched him? Mondo depressed, however much he wants no one to notice--which most do a great job of ignoring! Everyone in his world turned against him for a guy who has attacked people close to him? Terrified, and murder can now be an answer. (Fullbring Arc)

I was going somewhere with that. I've forgotten, but I'll leave it.

But anyway, I feel like he really only comes close to fighting for himself when others are taken away from him in a way that's also wronging them.

So yeah, I super don't see him happy with current events or Sirake gen.

I'm not sure how much I see him fighting for himself as mixed panromantic grey-ace. I mean, we know he fights people who are about to punch his face in for his looks, but what else can you reasonably do at that point? Get your head bashed in? I'm not sure how much I see him fighting hateful words pointed at him versus resigning himself to "people are the worst." I mean, when he talks about being picked on, he kinda seems resigned, or at least like it's a fact, like shoes being for outside or something.

I guess I tied it to Ichigo a lot better than I thought!

But also, the struggle against people born just after the war is not just you, and not just America. It's a major problem.

And it's likely that Ichigo would agree.

[communist-ojou-sama]

I will never forget just like lurking around Japanese language Twitter and like, seeing people pretty understandably calling for the arrest of Shinzo Abe due to his well known corruption and the Moritomo Gakuen scandal and all and the response of netouyo literally being "so you'd ARREST your own prime minster??? After all he's done for the country??? you must Love Korea" and I just--

[matarammap]

#Travel Tokyo Japan Travel Attractions Destinations Map: Moritomo Gakuen - A Scandal Inwards Sum Swing https://t.co/eayqYFumiy #Tokyo #Japan https://t.co/d3Yqi8ECOa

[mio-0811]

News difference

Thousands rally against Abe's state funeral in Tokyo, decry 'freedom of thought violation'

By the Mainichi

13,000 people brave typhoon to protest state funeral for Abe

By the Asahi Shimbun

Both of them are articles about the civil demonstration against Japanese state funeral for the former prime minister Shinzo Abe.

 He was shoot on 8th July when he was giving a speech for the House of Councilors election. The accident was happened because he was said to have relationship to the Unification Church. The suspect’s mother contributed money to the church so much and that caused bankruptcy. To admire his longest job as a Japanese Prime minister and his contribution to Japanese society or world society, the government decided to hold state funeral for Shinzo Abe with only decision by the Cabinet.

Some Japanese are opposed to hold state funeral for him and they do the civil demonstration around Japan. At this time, the civil demonstrations are reported by several medium. I found the articles written by the Mainichi and the Asahi Shimbun. However, the reason why the participants in the demonstration reject the funeral is different between the Mainichi’s one and the Asahi Shimbun’s one.

The Mainichi’s one points out violation for the freedom of the thought. If the state funeral is held, Japanese citizens have to express condolence to Shinzo Abe in several situation such as school or company. Expression shouldn’t be imposed by someone. It must be decided by each other freely. Besides, decision to held state funeral for Shinzo Abe was done by only people in Cabinet. That’s why it is difficult to say that to hold the state funeral is the national consensus. This article quotes Interviewee’s opinion focused on only these points.

On the other hand, the Asahi Shimbun’s one points out doubt of Shinzo Abe. He is said to have connection with the Unification Church. In addition, his involvement in favoritism scandals at Moritomo Gakuen and the Kake Educational Institution, as well as the taxpayer-funded cherry blossom viewing parties held in Tokyo when he was prime minister are introduced in the article. That’s why it doesn’t make sense to hold the state funeral for such a doubtful person and to spend national budget for him. This article quotes interviewee’s opinion focused on only Shinzo Abe’s doubt.

Both of these articles are about the demonstration participant’s objection against state funeral. These don’t report same demonstration but participant never claim their objection for only one reason. They should claim from similar reason. However, two newspaper publisher quote participant’s objections in the different point of view. I think this comes from the difference what is primely problem about the state funeral between the Asahi Shimbun and the Mainichi. The Mainichi thinks that the biggest problem about funeral is the violation of freedom thoughts while the Asahi Shimbun thinks that that is the doubts of Shinzo Abe. And they composed the article followed by their belief and used quotation related to their opinion. This result in the different type of article.

[tkatsumi06j]

Japan PM’s wife cuts ties with school at centre of political scandal  日本の首相の妻，政治スキャンダルの渦中の学校との繋がりを断つ

TOKYO, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s wife has cut ties with an elementary school whose operator is under fire for buying state-owned land at a rock-bottom price in a furore rapidly developing into a political headache for Abe.

（東京　24日　ロイター）日本の安倍晋三首相の妻は，夫の安倍首相の政治的頭痛の種となっている，国有地を破格で購入したことで批難の的となっている学校法人が運営する小学校との関係を断った。

Moritomo Gakuen, an educational institution in the western city of Osaka that also operates a kindergarten promoting patriotism based on Japanese traditions and culture, will open an elementary school in April that had been set to have Akie Abe as honorary principal.

大阪市西部に位置する森友学園は学校法人で，日本の伝統文化に基づく愛国心を育成することを目的とする幼稚園施設の運営法人でもある。

Yasunori Kagoike, who is president of Moritomo Gakuen, heads the Osaka branch of Nippon Kaigi, or Japan Conference, a nationalist lobby group with close ties to the prime minister and his cabinet.

森友学園 総裁の籠池泰典氏は，安倍首相と首相の内閣と繋がりを持つ国粋主義ロビー団体『日本会議』の大阪支部の幹部を務めている。

Abe, grilled about the issue in a parliamentary committee on Friday, said his wife had tried to refuse the position of honorary principal but accepted after it was announced in front of parents.

国会の予算員会の審議で問い詰められた安倍首相は24日，同氏の妻は名誉校長の話を断ろうとしたが，保護者たちの前で発表された後で受託したと述べた。

“Despite this, she decided that it would be detrimental for both the students and the parents if she continued and so she told them she would resign,” he said.

「にもかかわらず，妻は名誉校長を引き受け続けることで子どもたちやご両親にご迷惑をかけ続けることになると判断し、辞任することを先方に伝えた」

安倍首相はこう答弁した。

On the web site of the elementary school, Akie had said: “I was impressed by Mr. Kagoike’s passion for education and have assumed the post of honorary principal.”

就任先の #瑞穂の國記念小學院 のホームページにおいて，昭恵夫人はこう述べていた。

「籠池先生の教育に対する熱き思いに感銘を受け、このたび名誉校長に就任させていただきました」

But the comments were removed from the website on Thursday.

しかしこのメッセージは23日，ホームページから撤去された。

“It is true that she was on the web site as honorary principal but at her request, this was removed,” Abe said.

「妻がホームページ上で名誉校長として掲載されていたことは事実です。しかし彼女の要請により，これは撤去していただいた」

安倍首相はこう語った。

Abe reiterated that he had declined to allow his name to be used when Moritomo Gakuen solicited donations for what it called the “Abe Shinzo Memorial Elementary School”.

安倍氏は，森友学園側が「安倍晋三記念小學院」の名目で寄付金集めを行ったことについて，名前を使われることについては断っていたと強調。

He has also denied that either he or his wife had been involved in the school’s getting approval or in its acquisition of the state-owned land for school grounds.

また安倍氏は， 瑞穂の國記念小學院の認可や学校敷地獲得のために行った国有地の取得に，安倍氏自身や安倍氏の妻が関与していたという点についても否定した。

Moritomo Gakuen last year bought an 8,770-square-metre plot of government-owned land for 134 million yen ($1.2 million), or 14 percent of its appraisal price, to build a new elementary school, according to official data.

公式データによると，森友学園は昨年，新学校建設のため国有地の8,770平方メートルの敷地を，艦艇学の14％に相当する1億3400万円（約1.2百万ドル）で購入。

Officials have said the difference reflected the cost for cleanup of waste at the site.

地元当局者らは，その差額はゴミ等の撤去費用により生じたものだと主張してきた。

Finance Minister Taro Aso said in parliament earlier this week that there were no problems with the purchase.

麻生太郎財務大臣は今週はじめに行われた国会質疑の答弁で取引には問題はないと主張していた。

A kindergarten run by the same institution apologised earlier this week for online comments that domestic media described as possible hate speech against Koreans and Chinese people.

森本学園が運営するもう一つの教育施設（塚本幼稚園）では，ホームページ上でのコメントが在日朝鮮人や中国人の人びとに対するヘイトスピーチに値する等とメディアの指摘を受け，謝罪していた。

[japoninfos]

Floraison des cerisiers | Manifestations à Tôkyô | Jeux Paralympiques

Floraison des cerisiers | Manifestations à Tôkyô | Jeux Paralympiques

Dans la revue de presse du lundi 19 mars, la floraison précoce des cerisiers à Tôkyô, des manifestations suite au scandale qui touche le gouvernement, le bilan des Jeux Paralympiques et l’île d’Okinawa des années trente reprend vie avec la colorisation de photos d’époque.  (more…)

[newstfionline]

In Japan, a scandal over a school threatens to entangle Abe

By Anna Fifield, Washington Post, February 27, 2017

TOKYO--Japan’s prime minister is facing the biggest crisis of his tenure, caught up in a burgeoning scandal that involves a shady land deal, allegations of a coverup and a kindergarten sending out notes about “wicked” Koreans and Chinese.

Shinzo Abe strongly denies any wrongdoing, and his wife, Akie Abe, has resigned as “honorary principal” of the planned school at the center of the firestorm. But the scandal shows no sign of going away anytime soon.

“There are so many questions that need to be answered,” said Koichi Nakano, a professor of political science at Sophia University and sharp critic of the Abe government. “We don’t know whether Abe was directly involved, but even if he wasn’t, this will still hurt him.”

It all started with a local story about hate speech.

Tsukamoto kindergarten in Toyonaka, Osaka prefecture, sent a letter to parents in which it described Korean residents of Japan and Chinese people as having “wicked ideas,” using a derogatory term for Chinese.

Yasunori Kagoike, the chairman of the organization that runs the private kindergarten, has admitted to sending the letter.

A separate note said, “The problem is that people who have inherited the spirit [of Koreans] exist in our country with the looks of Japanese people.” Kyodo News reported the contents of the letter, citing a copy obtained from a parent.

A video from a sports day in 2015, also obtained by Kyodo, shows a child at the school saying: “We want China and South Korea, which portray Japan as a villain, to be repentant. We’ll root for Prime Minister Abe.”

Abe sought to distance himself from the school Monday, saying under questioning in the Diet, or parliament, that he had no idea what was being taught.

Abe had previously described Kagoike as having “an ideology similar to mine” but said Monday that it was not appropriate for a school leader to discriminate “based on race, nationality and religion.”

“Of course I don’t want the kids to root for me like that, and I don’t think it’s an appropriate thing for them to say,” Abe said.

Osaka is home to a high proportion of Japan’s ethnically Korean residents, a legacy of Japan’s colonial occupation of the Korean Peninsula in the early 20th century.

Children aged 3 to 5 who attend the private kindergarten sing the national anthem in front of the Japanese flag and recite the Imperial Rescript on Education, an 1890 tract that calls on Japanese to “offer yourselves courageously to the state” to “guard and maintain the prosperity of our Imperial throne.” The rescript was abolished after Japan’s defeat in World War II, when the emperor’s role in Japan was reduced to that of a ceremonial figurehead.

The kindergarten, whose website says it will teach children to “respect the courtesy of Japanese and foster patriotism,” apologized for the “misunderstanding” about its statements.

But the scandal really erupted when it emerged that Moritomo Gakuen, the educational organization that runs the kindergarten, had bought a plot of land for what it hoped would become the “Shinzo Abe Memorial Elementary School” at a vastly reduced price.

The new school, which is due to open in April, touts itself on its website as the “first and only Shinto elementary school” and says it will “foster children who hold pride in being Japanese and have a solid backbone.” Shinto is the animist religion of Japan, and Abe is an adherent.

Moritomo Gakuen paid $1.2 million last year for a two-acre plot of land that was appraised at $8.4 million. The discount was ostensibly because the land contained buried rubbish and some contamination, although the state reimbursed the organization almost $1.2 million--the same as the sale price--for cleanup costs.

“Didn’t the state give the land away for free?” asked Takeshi Miyamoto, a lawmaker in Japan’s Communist Party.

A neighboring, slightly larger plot of land was sold to the city of Toyonaka to build a park for $12.5 million--10 times the amount the school paid--in 2010.

Now, the Finance Ministry is saying that it threw out the records on the land negotiation after the deal was concluded, leading opposition politicians to accuse the government of a coverup. The Board of Audit is investigating.

Abe said that he asked Moritomo Gakuen not to use his name in connection with the school but that the organization has ignored the request in its fundraising drive.

The case has triggered allegations not just of bigotry but of political collusion.

Kagoike, the chairman of the educational organization, is an executive member of the Osaka chapter of Nippon Kaigi, a nationalist group that has close ties to the prime minister and numerous members of his ruling party, including some in his cabinet.

Nippon Kaigi has among its goals to “nurture patriotism” and to adopt a new constitution “based on our nation’s true characteristics,” rather than the document written by Japan’s American occupiers after World War II.

Abe, an arch-conservative who has said he wants to make Japan a “beautiful country” again, has been working to revise the constitution to loosen some of the postwar shackles imposed on Japan.

But Nippon Kaigi’s goals are widely seen as intended to restore the strength Japan had before the war. Kagoike promoted constitutional revision in a newsletter to kindergarten parents, encouraging them to “emulate a great man like Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.”

If the case continues to snowball and if Abe is found to have a greater role than disclosed, it could gravely hurt the prime minister, analysts say.

“This could be so damaging that it could shake the foundation of the Abe administration,” said Eiken Itagaki, a political analyst and former reporter for the left-leaning Mainichi newspaper.

[morganbelarus]

Japan PM Shinzo Abe embroiled in land-sale scandal

Tokyo (CNN)An educator accused of using his political clout to curry favor with Japanese politicians, including the first family, is set to address parliament Thursday.

More than $7 million was lopped off for waste removal, a discount that's raised eyebrows around the country.

The land was bought to build a school.

The country's parliament is now looking into whether Kagoike, who has been accused of promoting extreme nationalist views, used his connections with some right-leaning politicians -- including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe -- to secure a discount for Moritomo Gakuen, which runs schools in Japan, when the land was bought in June.

Abe denies any connection to the land sale, and says he'll step down if it's proven otherwise.

"I have no understanding about the details of what this school is doing," he said in a session of parliament in February. "I only took a brief look at their brochure."

Abe's wife, Akie, was a prominent supporter of the planned school, serving as "honorary principal" until her abrupt resignation last month.

Her picture and title were listed on the school's website but have since taken down.

Abe told parliament in February his wife resigned due to "various incidents," without going into more detail.

"She thought being honorary principal could result in giving trouble to children and parents," he told lawmakers.

But Kagoike told reporters and politicians the Abes have been supporters of his for a while. He claims Akie Abe donated 1 million yen (about $8,900) on her husband's behalf to Moritomo Gakuen in 2015 -- something he'll likely be asked to prove during testimony Thursday, as the Prime Minister has denied the donation himself and through his spokesman.

"I have no idea why he (Kagoike) has said this," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said.

The donation isn't necessarily illegal, but if verified it would mean Abe misled lawmakers in a session of parliament.

The Morimoto Gakuen group declined to speak with CNN. Representatives for the Abes did not give specific answers to CNN's inquiries, instead pointing to public comments the Prime Minister has made.

'My way of thinking'

The story first broke in February after a local assembly member sued the government for not disclosing the details of the sale. The Prime Minister was fielding questions about the school by the middle of February, when he denied any connection to the transaction.

But he told lawmakers his wife said Kagoike is a passionate educator who shares his "way of thinking very much."

This has caused concern among the Japanese public, as officials at Kagoike's Morimoto Gakuen have been accused of using derogatory language when referring to Chinese and Korean people in letters home to parents.

A note on one school's website blamed "delinquent parents" of "former students coming from C country and K country" for making the letter public.

"Our school stands firm against such actions by those extreme minority from C country and K country living in Japan," Morimoto Gakuen said on its website.

"C Country" and "K country" likely refer to China and South Korea.

The school group eventually took down the note and issued an apology on its website for their "misleading expressions."

Morimoto Gakuen also requires its students to recite Imperial Rescript of Education, a relic of Japan's imperial era education system that deifies the Emperor. Today, reciting the rescript is seen by some in the Japanese public as glorifying the history of Japanese aggression.

Those accusations strike a chord with Abe's opponents, who believe the Prime Minister himself has been too cavalier when it comes to Japan's history.

2013: Abe visits controversial shrine

Replay

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The defense minister's connection to Morimoto Gakuen

Tomomi Inada, who is believed to be Abe successor-in-waiting, has also found herself embroiled in the scandal. She denies any connection to the land sale. Inada did not answer CNN's questions about whether she supported the group's educational policies.

Inada told opposition lawmakers she did not have a relationship with Kagoike or his company when she was asked about the scandal in parliament last week.

But Japanese media uncovered court records showing Inada, a lawyer, represented Morimoto Gakuen during a trial in 2004.

Inada later confirmed she attended the trial in place of her husband, another lawyer, when their firm was representing the group.

Shuji Akiba, an official at the defense ministry, told CNN this was the only case Inada worked on for Morimoto Gakuen. The contract between the law firm and the Morimoto Gakuen ended in 2009.

Inada apologized for the mistake, but opposition lawmakers say she should resign for making a false statement while in a parliament session.

Inada has acknowledged her error and wants to now focus on her duties as defense minister, Akiba said.

Inada hasn't been in touch with Kagoike in 10 years, according to Akiba.

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=> *********************************************** Source Here: Japan PM Shinzo Abe embroiled in land-sale scandal ************************************ =>

Japan PM Shinzo Abe embroiled in land-sale scandal was originally posted by 16 MP Just news

[bathask]

YouTube視聴→【THE PAGEチャンネル】籠池泰典氏が語る“森友問題の裏側”　31日午前10時から会見（2019年10月31日） 日本外国特派員協会【The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan】Press Conference: "Behind the Moritomo Gakuen Scandal and Its Criminal Trial"【FCCJ】

[newsintodays-blog]

Former Japan PM Koizumi says embattled Abe may quit in June: magazine

New Post has been published on http://newsintoday.info/2018/04/16/former-japan-pm-koizumi-says-embattled-abe-may-quit-in-june-magazine/

Former Japan PM Koizumi says embattled Abe may quit in June: magazine

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, plagued by suspected cronyism scandals and cover-ups and with his ratings sliding, will likely step down in June, former leader Junichiro Koizumi was quoted on Monday as telling a weekly magazine.

FILE PHOTO: Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is also ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leader, delivers a speech during the LDP annual party convention in Tokyo, Japan March 25, 2018. REUTERS/Issei Kato

A survey by broadcaster Nippon TV released on Sunday showed Abe’s support had sunk to 26.7 percent, the lowest since the conservative lawmaker took office in December 2012. An Asahi newspaper poll published on Monday put his rating at 31 percent.

Abe’s sliding ratings raise doubts over whether he can win a third three-year term as ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leader in a September vote, that he needs to win to stay in office, or whether he might even resign before the party vote.

Speculation has also emerged that Abe could call a snap general election as he did last October, when his ratings were in a similar slump.

The prime minister has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

The latest signs of trouble for Abe come ahead of his summit this week with U.S. President Donald Trump, where the difficult topics of North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats and touchy trade matters will be on the agenda.

“The situation is getting dangerous. Won’t Mr. Abe resign around the time parliament’s session ends (on June 20)?” weekly magazine Aera’s online site quoted Koizumi as saying in an interview.

Koizumi – a critic of Abe’s support for nuclear power after the 2011 Fukushima crisis – said that if Abe hangs on, it could hurt LDP candidates in an upper house election next summer.

Crowds of protestors demonstrated near parliament on Saturday, holding signs saying “Abe is Over” and chanting “Abe quit!” Organisers said 50,000 had participated by the time the demonstration ended.

Abe last week denied again that he had intervened to ensure preferential treatment for educational institution Kake Gakuen, run by his friend Kotaro Kake, to set up a veterinary school.

He has also repeatedly denied that he or his wife intervened in a heavily discounted sale of state-owned land to another school operator, Moritomo Gakuen, with ties to his wife.

But the Asahi survey, in line with others, showed that two-thirds of voters don’t trust Abe’s explanations.

In another headache for Abe, the finance ministry’s top bureaucrat has come under fire after another weekly magazine reported that he had sexually harassed several female journalists.

The finance ministry said in a statement on Monday that Administrative Vice Finance Minister Junichi Fukuda had denied the allegations in Shincho magazine and vowed to sue its publisher for defamation. Fukuda apologised for causing trouble to the finance minister and ministry officials “by inviting public distrust”, the statement said. [nT9N1QR020]

Former cabinet minister Shigeru Ishiba, who has made clear he wants to challenge Abe for the top post, topped the list of politicians that respondents to a weekend Kyodo news agency survey saw as best suited to become the next premier, with 26.6 percent.

Popular young LDP lawmaker Shinjiro Koizumi – ex-prime minister Koizumi’s son – ranked second with 25.2 percent, with Abe in third place with 18.3 percent. Former foreign minister Fumio Kishida, another possible contender, was fourth with 5.9 percent followed by Internal Affairs Minister Seiko Noda at 3.6 percent and Foreign Minister Taro Kono with 2.9 percent.

Among LDP supporters, however, Abe was top with 36.7 percent against 24.7 percent for Ishiba, Kyodo said.

Reporting by Linda Sieg; Editing by Michael Perry

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[japoninfos]

#Scandale à #MoritomoGakuen, #Shinzô #Abe de nouveau #impliqué L’ancien directeur de l’école Moritomo Gakuen et sa femme vont être arrêtés pour l'encaissement illégal de subventions pour son école, qui auraient été données par...

[proviralmedia-blog]

Japanese ministry proposed cover story on land sale at heart of scandal: official

Japanese ministry proposed cover story on land sale at heart of scandal: official

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Finance Ministry proposed crafting a cover story with a school operator at the heart of a political scandal to justify a discount in the price of public land sold to the school, a ministry official said on Monday. FILE PHOTO: The construction site for an elementary school of Moritomo Gakuen, an educational institution, is seen in Toyonaka, Osaka, Japan April 26, 2017.…

[amnonjakony]

Japan PM takes blame for loss of trust over scandal as polls dive, denies involvement

Japan PM takes blame for loss of trust over scandal as polls dive, denies involvement

TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, his popularity plunging amid a cronyism scandal, took responsibility on Monday for a loss of trust in his government but denied he or his wife had intervened in a land sale to a school operator with ties to his wife.

The finance ministry’s announcement last week that documents about the discounted sale to educational body Moritomo Gakuen had been altered…

[infotainmentplus-blog]

Most Japanese think PM Abe bears responsibility for scandal, via WION - world News Releases Abe and Finance Minister Taro Aso have been under fire since the finance ministry said on March 12 it had altered records relating to a discounted sale of state-owned land to school operator Moritomo Gakuen, which had ties to Abe's wife http://bit.ly/2tYRb1G

[zeroviraluniverse-blog]

Majority believe Japan PM bears some responsibility for altered documents: poll

Visit Now - https://zeroviral.com/majority-believe-japan-pm-bears-some-responsibility-for-altered-documents-poll/

Majority believe Japan PM bears some responsibility for altered documents: poll

TOKYO (Reuters) – A majority of Japanese believe Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bears some responsibility for altered documents at the center of suspicions of a cover-up linked to cronyism, according to an opinion poll on Sunday that also showed his support sliding.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe tells reporters at his office in Tokyo on March 12, 2018, that he deeply apologizes to the public over the Finance Ministry’s alternations of documents over a state land sale. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via REUTERS

In his worst crisis since taking office in 2012, Abe and Finance Minister Taro Aso have been under fire since the finance ministry said on March 12 it had altered records relating to a discounted sale of state-owned land to school operator Moritomo Gakuen, which had ties to Abe’s wife, Akie.

References to Abe, his wife, and Aso were removed from the finance ministry’s records of the sale, copies of documents released by the ministry showed.

Both men have denied any wrongdoing in the affair.

But 66.1 percent of respondents to a poll conducted by Kyodo news agency on Saturday and Sunday said they felt the premier had some responsibility for the altered documents. Only 25.8 percent said they thought he didn’t.

FILE PHOTO: Police officers try to control protesters during a rally denouncing Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Finance Minister Taro Aso over a suspected cover-up of a cronyism scandal in front of Abe’s official residence in Tokyo, Japan March 14, 2018. REUTERS/Issei Kato

Protesters have flocked to the streets by the prime minister’s office every night since the ministry admitted altering the documents, with some 2,000 on Friday calling for Abe and Aso to resign.

The poll also showed Abe’s support slipping by 9.4 percent to 38.7 percent in the two weeks since the last poll was conducted, while 48.2 percent said they did not support him.

FILE PHOTO: Japan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso speaks to reporters in Tokyo, Japan March 12, 2018. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo

A Friday survey had a similar drop in support but only 40.4 percent said then that they did not support Abe.

Opposition parties are calling for Aso to resign, while the affair could dash Abe’s hopes of winning a third three-year term as head of his Liberal Democratic Party in a September party leadership election. Abe took office in December 2012.

Aso has repeatedly refused to resign and has said the responsibility for the land sale lay with Nobuhisa Sagawa, who stepped down as tax chief ten days ago. Sagawa headed the division that submitted the documents before he became tax agency chief in July.

But the finance ministry announced on Friday that Aso will not attend a meeting of G20 finance leaders this week. A ruling party source told Reuters this was so he can address parliament on Monday about the scandal.

Reporting by Elaine Lies; Editing by Nick Macfie

[larrygarity]

Attn yen traders - Japanese politics will be a focus again today

Over the weekend and again on Monday, new developments in the 'school land sale' scandal For background ...  This from around a year ago: - An educator accused of using his political clout to curry favor with Japanese politicians, including the first family ... Yasunori Kagoike ... his Moritomo Gakuen group purchased land from the government at one-seventh Attn yen traders - Japanese politics will be a focus again today published first on https://forexlasersforum.tumblr.com/