Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada admitted Tuesday that, as a lawyer, she had represented Moritomo Gakuen, a nationalist school operator under fire over a shady state land deal, in court in 2004.<\/b>
Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada admitted Tuesday that, as a lawyer, she had represented Moritomo Gakuen, a nationalist school operator under fire over a shady state land deal, in court in 2004.
Inada withdrew her remarks at a Budget Committee meeting at the House of Councillors, the upper chamber, the previous day that denied her involvement in a civil lawsuit filed by Moritomo Gakuen.
\u00ab\u00a0I want to correct my remarks, which were based on my memories, and apologize,\u00a0\u00bb Inada said at a plenary meeting of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber.
The opposition camp demanded Inada’s resignation, accusing her of making false remarks. But Prime Minister Shinzo Abe rejected the request.
Inada explained that initially her husband, also a lawyer, and later a law firm run by the couple were under contract with Yasunori Kagoike, who recently announced his intention to step down as head of Moritomo Gakuen over the scandal between around October 2004 and August 2009.<\/p>\n