Abe rejects demand for wife to testify on state land sale 

March 24, 2017

TOKYO- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday turned down an opposition camp demand to summon his wife, Akie, for testimony before parliament, over a state land sale scandal involving right-wing school operator Moritomo Gakuen. “It’s strange to summon her for sworn testimony as she hasn’t been involved in misconduct or a criminal case,” Abe said at a meeting of the Budget Committee of the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of parliament.

The opposition camp stepped up the demand for testimony from the first lady following the previous day’s parliamentary questioning of the group’s outgoing head, Yasunori Kagoike. Abe vigorously denied a series of claims by Kagoike in his sworn testimony, including one that his group had received a donation of one million yen from the prime minister via his wife in September 2015.

“He made untruthful remarks, saying things that are hard to disprove, such as behind-the-scenes discussions,” Abe insisted.

The prime minister also reiterated his denial of any involvement by him, his wife or his private office in either the unusual discount sale of state-owned land in Toyonaka, Osaka Prefecture, to the controversial group in June 2016 or the process of approving its plan to open an elementary school at the site.

Akie Abe was named “honorary principal” of the planned elementary school, but she quit the post after the land sale scandal came into the media spotlight earlier this year.

During his testimony, Kagoike claimed that he had been implicitly urged by the prime minister’s wife to stay silent on the matter. Abe criticized this claim as “completely malicious.”

In response to Kagoike’s revelation that he had received a fax from a government official serving Abe’s wife that gave the result of an inquiry with the Ministry of Finance about the land in question, the prime minister said, “It was an administrative inquiry, definitely not a request, suggestion or inappropriate pressure.”

Over the land sale scandal, the Upper House committee on Friday summoned Hidenori Sakota, commissioner of the National Tax Agency, and Yoshiki Takeuchi, director-general of the ministry’s International Bureau. Both were involved in the administration of state-owned land and assets at the ministry, before assuming their current posts.

Sakota said he had not received any report on negotiations with Moritomo Gakuen on the land, adding that there had been no room for political consideration.

Takeuchi denied having proceeded with the land talks with political consideration. Jiji Press