Japan PM Abe accused of giving cash to nationalistic school
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe donated 1 million yen ($9,000) through his wife to a school run by a group of ultranationalist educators, the group’s leader told Parliament on Thursday, while also suggesting there was “political influence” in a land-buying scandal involving the school.
First lady Akie Abe was honorary principal of the elementary school for several months until she resigned two weeks after the scandal erupted in early February.
In sworn testimony in Parliament, Yasunori Kagoike, head of the Moritomo Gakuen group, said Akie Abe handed him the cash in an envelope on behalf of her husband during a September 2015 visit to Kagoike’s kindergarten in Osaka.
Shinzo Abe has denied making such a donation, which would have been legal under Japanese law because Osaka is not part of Abe’s electoral constituency.
He has also denied having any influence over the sale last year of state property to Kagoike for 134 million yen ($1.2 million), one-seventh of its appraised price.
In a statement on Facebook, Akie Abe also denied making the donation or influencing the land deal. She acknowledged, however, that she had her official assistant respond by fax to an inquiry about the land purchase from Kagoike, though she denied giving him any preferential treatment.
The Abes’ ties to Kagoike have raised questions because of his extreme views on history and his derogatory comments about Chinese and Koreans, and the land scandal has eroded Abe’s support in opinion polls.
