Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe yesterday denied any wrongdoing as he was forced onto the defensive in a parliamentary hearing over an unrelenting cronyism scandal that has threatened his grip on power..
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe yesterday denied any wrongdoing as he was forced onto the defensive in a parliamentary hearing over an unrelenting cronyism scandal that has threatened his grip on power.
Mr Abe acceded to the off-season Diet session only two weeks ago, as growing public distrust contributed to his Cabinet approval ratings sinking to new lows and his Liberal Democratic Party’s poor showing in Tokyo polls this month.
Opposition lawmakers came brandishing charts, timelines and photographs for the Lower House session that, at moments, was interrupted by jeers and accusations that Mr Abe was lying to cover his tracks.
The Prime Minister faces more questioning today in the Upper House.
Mr Abe has been implicated by allegations that he pulled strings to help educational institution Kake Gakuen, which is run by his close friend Kotaro Kake, win a bid to set up a veterinary school.
Documents leaked to the media in the past two months had implied there was implicit pressure from the top echelons of government to grant Kake Gakuen the permit in an alleged rubber-stamp deal.
Mr Abe yesterday reiterated that due process was given to the bid put in by Kake Gakuen, even as former top Education Ministry bureaucrat Kihei Maekawa said there was «behind-the-scenes manoeuvring».
