Japan Press Weekly

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2018 March 14 - 20 TOP3 [POLITICS]

Alteration of official documents and Nippon Kaigi

The original documents which the Finance Ministry disclosed as a result of public criticism regarding the super-discounted sale of state-owned land to school corporation "Moritomo Gakuen" hint at a special relationship between Kagoike Yasunori (then school president) and Mr. and Mrs. Abe. An important factor giving weight to this implication is that both Kagoike and Prime Minister Abe Shinzo are key members of the rightwing constitutional revisionist group "Nippon Kaigi".

The documents before they were falsified refer to the suprapartisan parliamentary league of Nippon Kaigi, highlighting that Kagoike is an executive member of the Nippon Kaigi Osaka chapter. The data also point out the fact that the men who hold important posts in the league include Finance Minister Aso Taro as special advisor, Hiranuma Takeo as chairman, and Abe Shinzo as vice-chairman. However, the ministry deleted the entire portion of this description from the documents it initially submitted to the Diet.

The corrupted relations between the Prime Minister's Office and bureaucrats or between "domination over bureaucrats" and "the surmising of politicians' intents" comprise the bedrock of scandals regarding Moritomo Gakuen. Through the Cabinet Bureau of Personnel Affairs, the PM Office has the authority to implement a personnel shakeup of about 600 senior officials such as administrative vice ministers, bureau directors general, department directors general, and councilors. On top of that, the Prime Minister can appoint the personnel affairs bureau chief from among deputy chief cabinet secretaries.

The two men who led the establishment of this Cabinet Bureau of Personnel Affairs in 2014 were Inada Tomomi (then Minister for Administrative Reform) and Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide.

Kato Katsunobu (current Labor Minister) became the first bureau chief and was then followed by Hagiuda Koichi (current Deputy Secretary-General of the LDP). Before they assumed the position as bureau heads, they served as special advisors to the Prime Minister, which shows that they are Abe's closest aides.

Inada, Suga, Kato, and Hagiuda are all core members of the Nippon Kaigi parliamentary league. In short, Nippon Kaigi legislators dominate the center of the present color of politics in Japan with their control over the bureaucracy. Hagiuda, for example, is reportedly the main character who pressured the Education Ministry to provide favoritism to another school corporation, Kake Gakuen, whose owner is PM Abe's best friend.

The Nippon Kaigi beautifies and glorifies the policies of prewar Japan and justifies Japan's past war of aggression. The organization aims to reinstate Imperial Japan with the absolute emperor system by completely revising the postwar Constitution. Such religious entities as the controversial Yasukuni Shrine which enshrines Class-A war criminals, Meiji Jingu which is dedicated to the Emperor Meiji, and the association of Shinto shrines "Jinja Honcho" are the nucleus of Nippon Kaigi.

It is now more necessary than ever before for the general public to look squarely to the depths of the crisis in the nation's democracy.

Past related articles:
> Opposition parties will pursue gov't responsibility for deleting from official records Abe's wife involvement in state-owned land sale to 'Moritomo Gakuen' [March 13, 2018]
> Finance Ministry admits to falsification of official documents regarding state land sale to Moritomo [March 13, 2018]
> Abe’s aide repeatedly claims ‘I don’t remember’ over Kake Gakuen scandal [July 25, 2017]
> ‘Kake Gakuen’ related-materials alluding PM pressure existed in ministry [June 17, 2017]