Doubt on Shinzo Abe Memorial Elementary School

Democratic Party is enthusiastic in investigation on a case in which Ministry of Finance sold off state-owned land in Oasaka to an educational corporation for building new elementary school. DP is focusing on why the Ministry discounted the price so much. In the process of investigation, it was revealed that the corporation was trying to build Shinzo Abe Memorial Elementary School.

MoF sold 8,770 square meters of land in Toyonaka City, Osaka, to Moritomo Gakuen Corporation at the price of ¥134 million last June. But, the estimated price of the land was as high as ¥956 million, which meant the purchase to be 86% off. MoF explained that the discount was compensation for removing garbage found in underground. Who would believe a story of paying ¥822 million for removing garbage underground?

Moritomo Gakuen is run by an ultraconservative man and a member of Japan Conference, Yasunori Kagoike. The corporation poses the kindergarten kids in its preschool reciting Emperor’s Direction for Education in the time of Imperial Japan. DP found that the preschool had sent a letter to the parents, which described hate against Chinese and Koreans.

New elementary school, planned to open this April, invited Abe’s wife, Akie, as its honorary principal. Akie sent a message to the school to explain that she had accepted the offer with deep respect on the corporation’s diligence for education. The message was removed from the webpage after the doubt on ridiculous discount was discovered. Realizing possible scandal, Akie gave up being the honorary principal.

DP also realized that Moritomo Gakuen raised a donation for establishing Shinzo Abe Memorial Elementary School. Anyone can suppose that political intervention could exist behind the discount. Abe explained that he asked not to use his name. “In spite of my repeated dismissals, they used my name. It was extremely regretful,” told Abe in the discussion in Budget Committee in House of Representatives on Friday.

Although the opposite parties demanded MoF to disclose the record of selling off the land, the Ministry refused it with reason of having scrapped it. As shown in the eve of unconditional surrender in August 1945, bureaucrats in Japan tend to scrap documents inconvenient to them. MoF insists on that they have been following guidelines for dealing with official documents. They also tend to translate laws conveniently.

Abe promised that he would resign Prime Minister and lawmaker, if he, his wife or his office had been involved in illegal selling off state-owned land. The people are watching closely what is going on in the Diet.