Education Ministry Official’s Arrest Rocks Trust in Govt: Suga

July 6, 2018

Tokyo- The arrest of a senior education ministry official for alleged bribe-taking is a serious problem that can fundamentally shake public confidence in Japan's education administration, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said on Thursday.

Calling the scandal a "grave problem," Suga said at a press conference that the government wants public prosecutors to fully uncover facts.

"Based on the results of the investigation, we'll thoroughly implement necessary (preventive) measures," the top government spokesman stressed.

On Wednesday, the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office arrested Futoshi Sano, 58, the then director-general of the ministry's Science and Technology Policy Bureau, on bribery charges involving the ministry's subsidy program and Tokyo Medical University.

At the news conference, Suga did not rule out the possibility of requesting the university to return subsidies it received allegedly in return for admitting Sano's child by padding the entrance exam scores.

Meanwhile, Suga stopped short of clarifying education minister Yoshimasa Hayashi's responsibility, only expressing hope that Hayashi will play a center role in regaining public trust.

In a related development Thursday, state ministers met at the prime minister's office and vowed to enforce strict discipline at their respective ministries.

"I offer a heartfelt apology to the Japanese people," Toshiei Mizuochi, the education ministry's state minister, said at the meeting. Then he pledged the ministry's full cooperation with the public prosecutors' investigation and efforts to prevent a similar scandal from happening in the future. Jiji Press