TOKYO- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Tuesday he was initially unaware that Kake Educational Institution, headed by a friend of his, was involved in a controversial university faculty plan, correcting his past explanations in parliament."It's true that I replied to questions while a bit confused," Abe said at a Budget Committee meeting of the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of parliament. "I apologize and correct them."

Abe reiterated his claim that he first learned of Kake's plan to open a new veterinary faculty in a national strategic deregulation zone in the city of Imabari, Ehime Prefecture, western Japan, at a meeting of the Council on National Strategic Special Zones on Jan. 20 this year, the day Kake was selected by the government as the new veterinary faculty operator.

During this year's ordinary session of parliament, Abe said at an Upper House committee meeting on May 9 that he was in a position to know Kake's school plan when an application to create a special deregulation zone was filed. He also told a separate Upper House committee meeting on June 5 that he learned of the plan when Kake submitted an application for a special deregulation zone together with Imabari.

Imabari proposed the school plan in June 2015 and Kake filed an application to be its operator on Jan. 10 this year.

"The proposal to establish the veterinary faculty was made by the city of Imabari, not by Kake," Abe said. "As the city gave no explanations about who would be operating the new faculty, I wasn't aware of Kake's plan."

By claiming his initial ignorance of Kake's involvement, Abe effectively denied that he put undue pressure on the education ministry to approve Kake's plan to set up a new veterinary faculty, the first in Japan in more than 50 years.

"I can't believe that you didn't know it until Jan. 20," Akira Koike, head of the secretariat of the Japanese Communist Party, said. "This is clearly a false answer."

Abe replied, "My (past) responses lacked preciseness."

The Upper House committee meeting was held while parliament was not in session, following a Budget Committee meeting of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber, on Monday, in order for Abe to face questioning over issues including allegations of favoritism over the school plan.

Abe said he and Kotaro Kake, head of the school operator in question, have never tried to exploit each other's position to accomplish anything, claiming that he has not received any approach from Kake or showed favoritism to the school operator.

"This kind of relationship allowed us to stay friends for a long time," Abe said. "You wouldn't call someone who uses you a friend."

At the meeting, agriculture minister Yuji Yamamoto, education minister Hirokazu Matsuno and regional revitalization minister Kozo Yamamoto revealed that they held meetings with Kake in August and September last year. The farm minister and the regional revitalization minister admitted that Kake's school plan was discussed at the meetings.

The JCP's Koike said he wonders why Kake was able to meet cabinet ministers in succession. "Does this mean that he (Kake) informed the related ministers of the school plan, but didn't tell the prime minister about it?" Koike asked.

Abe said, "Although we're longtime friends, our relationship doesn't involve in any way receiving a request and responding to one."

After the off-session Upper House meeting, Kazunori Yamanoi, the DP's parliamentary affairs chief, held talks with his LDP counterpart, Wataru Takeshita.

Noting that questions about the Kake school issue remain unresolved, Yamanoi demanded that former vice education minister Kihei Maekawa and Hiroto Izumi, adviser to the prime minister, give testimony in parliament as sworn witnesses. He also called for summoning Kake, the chief of the school operator, to a Lower House Budget Committee meeting. (Jiji Press)