Another School Scandal

Not having settled unusual scandal of selling state-owned land in Osaka to Moritomo Gakuen, educational corporation run by an ultra-nationalist, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is targeted by the opposite parties in the Diet over another scandal over building new college faculty. Chief Director of the college is a friend of Abe, who played golf or had dinner with Abe. It is doubted that bureaucrats in the Ministries have done the college a favor for Abe’s political interest.

The issue is about where to establish a veterinary faculty in western Japan. To establish new veterinary faculty, the school, public or private, has to pass the regulation set by Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, or MEXT, or Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. MEXT controls needs for college and students and MAFF concerns the number of veterinarians.

Last October, Kyoto Sangyo University, having advanced institute for study on bird flu, expressed its hope to establish new division of veterinary in Kyoto. Three weeks later, a conference on National Strategic Special District, chaired by Abe, created a new rule that the government would permit new veterinary faculty only in the area without any other veterinary faculty. Because there was another veterinary faculty in college around Kyoto, the proposal of Kyoto Sangyo University was turned down.

It was last December when MEXT and MAFF agreed on allowing only one new veterinary faculty in an empty area. Kake Gakuen, run by Kotaro Kake, made a step forward this January to establish new faculty of veterinary in Imabari city in Shikoku Island where no faculty of veterinary existed. Kake Gakuen officially submitted that proposal to MEXT last month.

Who did make the decision of making new rule? According to a report of Asahi Shimbun, both Ministries had been negative on establishing new veterinary faculty. A lawmaker with Democratic Party, Yasue Funayama, supposed that political power had worked for establishing unnecessary new faculty. Ministers of both Ministries dismissed that possibility, saying they were not in charge of it or unable to mention a decision making of specific policy.

One lawmaker revealed that Abe and Kake had as close relationship as playing golf together or having dinner. The answer of Abe distorted the discussion. “It is a strange story that a man will be excluded from the opportunity, if he has relationship with me,” told Abe. It has to be stranger, if a friend of Prime Minister will be able to get a business chance so easily.

In the discussion of the Diet, it was revealed that Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary, Koichi Hagiuda, had a job in a Kake’s college in Chiba Prefecture. Abe’s wife, Akie, was appointed to the honorary principal of a kindergarten run by Kake in 2015. It is undeniable that Kake Gakuen has a close relationship with Prime Minister Abe. Abe is responsible for explain why could Kake Gakuen exclusively get the chance?