Japan PM under fire over shady dealings claims

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe gestures as he answers questions during the budget committee of the upper house of parliament in Tokyo on June 16, 2017. Abe was under mounting pressure over allegations that he used his influence to help a friend in a business deal after two official reports appeared to back up the claims. Toru YAMANAKA / AFP

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was under mounting pressure Friday over allegations that he used his influence to help a friend in a business deal after two official reports appeared to back up the claims.


Abe, in power since late 2012, is in little danger of losing his job, but his popularity has taken a hit in the midst of the latest shady dealings claims.


They come a few months after the conservative premier was forced to deny he had connections to the controversial director of a school which had purchased government land at a huge discount — and counted Abe’s wife as its honorary principal.

This week, the education ministry and Cabinet Office confirmed the existence of documents similar to ones that the opposition insisted was evidence Abe used his power improperly to help an old university friend open a veterinary school.


The claims, originally reported by the Asahi newspaper last month, centre on documents that suggested the education ministry was pressured to grant approval for the school.


The friend, Kotaro Kake, allegedly wanted to open the centre in a special economic zone so that he could bypass cumbersome government regulations.


In response to the claims, the education ministry launched a probe last month but it quickly closed the investigation and said it “could not confirm the existence of the documents”.


The ministry flip-flopped a week later, saying the documents did exist.


“I’m taking this result seriously,” Education Minister Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters this week.


On Friday, the Cabinet Office also said it had unearthed similar papers, but questioned whether they proved Abe intended to pressure education ministry bureaucrats.


“I’ve never given specific instructions on this matter,” Abe told parliament Friday as angry opposition lawmakers interrogated him.


“I’m always instructing (officials) to carry out regulatory reforms in a speedy manner, however.”


Earlier this year, Abe denied claims he made a donation to the school at the centre of the land scandal.


The school’s director Yasunori Kagoike had gained notoriety for operating an Osaka kindergarten that instills pupils with ultra-nationalist views.


A poll by public broadcaster NHK this week showed Abe’s government had a 48 percent support rating, down three percentage points from a month ago. His disapproval rating rose six percentage points to 36 percent, the survey showed.


The pressure on Abe may ease as the current parliamentary sessions ends this week.


“In the immediate term, Abe will face intensive scrutiny,” Tobias Harris, vice president of corporate advisory firm Teneo Intelligence, said in a commentary.


“However, once the session ends, opposition lawmakers will not have the opportunity to question Abe and other senior officials directly or call (them) to be summoned for questioning.”