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Monday, May 29, 2017, 18:57
Abe denies pressuring govt to open new school
By Xinhua
Monday, May 29, 2017, 18:57 By Xinhua

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (C) speaks to reporters at his official residence in Tokyo on May 29, 2017. (AFP PHOTO / JIJI PRESS / STR / Japan OUT)

TOKYO – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday denied allegations that he had exerted pressure on the government so that an institution run by his friend could open a new subsidized school.

Following criticism from the four main opposition parties last week, which believe the PM might have used his influence on behalf of his school operator friend, Abe termed the allegations “inaccurate”.

He was quoted as telling a parliamentary session that he had not used his or his office's clout to "exert pressure on the government" so that school operator Kake Educational Institution could launch a new veterinary medicine department at the Okayama University of Science.

Kotaro Kake, known to be a close personal friend of Abe, is the chairman of the institution which operates the university.

Kihei Maekawa, a former vice education minister, earlier talked about documents that link Abe to the decision to approve the construction of a new, heavily-subsidized veterinary medicine school at the university.

The four top opposition parties concluded that there remained a great deal of suspicion regarding potentially shady procedures for the new school to be built, with Renho, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, stating that her party will meticulously look into the issue further to determine the exact level of impropriety committed by the PM and or his office.

The Democratic Party, the Japanese Communist Party, the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party have jointly said that Maekawa should be summoned to the Diet to give sworn testimony as a witness.

But Abe's government has, thus far, managed to side-step the latest opposition-launched offensive. 

Wataru Takeshita, Diet affairs chief of the Liberal Democratic Party, said last week that an initial probe by the education ministry could not confirm the existence of the documents.

Based on this, he said it would be unnecessary to summon Maekawa as a witness despite his willingness to give sworn testimony.

The government's top spokesperson Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga also told a press conference Friday that the documents being referred to were insubstantial and underscored the fact that the education ministry's probe into the matter had largely been concluded.

Okayama University of Science was specifically chosen by the government to open a new veterinary medicine school, for the first time in 50 years, in Ehime Prefecture.

The prefecture is one of Japan's national strategic special economic zones, which has far more relaxed regulations to boost growth in the area, as part of Abe's overall growth strategy.

Kake Educational Institution, chaired by Abe's close friend, was selected for the project in a meeting held between the central and local governments in the special strategic zone in Ehime in January, according to official accounts.

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