Key Minister Drowning

A key Minister of Shinzo Abe Cabinet was suddenly precipitated in a quagmire of money scandal. Weekly magazine, Bungei Shunju, reported that a construction company handed Minister in charge of Economic Revitalization, Akira Amari, ¥12 million as a commission for settling relationship between the company and a public developer. It is suspected that the exchange of money would violate a law for regulation in political money. Resignation of Amari is the talking point.

According to Bungei Shunju, Amari received ¥500 thousand from an officer of construction company in Shirai City, Chiba, first in Minister’s room in November 2013 and second in his local office in February 2014. The company had a trouble with a public real estate developer, Urban Renaissance Agency, over a road construction. The money to Amari was to ask his effort to persuade UR Agency. Total amount of money provided was ¥12 million.

In the discussion in House of Councillors on Thursday, Amari was grilled by the lawmakers in the opposite parties. “It is true that board members of the company visited Minister’s room,” admitted Amari. Why he met them? It was because the president had been a “big fan” of Amari, according to Amari. But, he could not remember whether he received an envelope filled with money. “I am partly not sure what we did and trying to remember what kind of conversation we had,” Amari told in a committee of House of Councillors.

Mediation Remuneration Punishment Act prohibits public workers gaining profit in return of exercising influential power on an issue, even though the mediation was not an illegal activity. Political Funds Control Act requires politicians to correctly report about received money. Amari’s case may violate those laws.

The opposite parties got excited with new scandal to charge. “He is one of the closest colleagues around Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and important Minister. We need to ask about responsibility of Prime Minister for appointing him,” told President of Democratic Party of Japan, Katsuya Okada.

The leading parties are also worried about the impact of the scandal on Abe administration. While Amari is in charge of Trans-Pacific Partnership, one of the former Ministers in Liberal Democratic Party elaborated that Amari’s status as the Minister would be ended before signing ceremony of TPP planned in early February. Komeito expects clear decision of Amari. Some predicted that Amari would step down by the end of next week.