Document Exists

A nonexistent document was found. Former Vice-Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, or MEXT anyway, Kihei Maekawa, revealed in the interview to Asahi Shimbun that he received a document of memorandum indicating a senior staff in Cabinet Office urged MEXT to support establishing new veterinary division of Kake Gakuen with a wish of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Maekawa revealed his impression that their policy was politically distorted.

Establishment of Faculty of Veterinary in Okayama University of Science was approved by MEXT in January. The university is hopeful in starting new curriculum next April. Although establishment of new faculty of veterinary had strictly been restricted, the university was successful to do that for the first time in these 52 years. Moreover, the process of approval was too fast to be reasonable. The opposite parties argue that friendship between Abe and Kotaro Kake, the chairman of school corporation Kake Gakuen which runs Okayama University of Science, accelerated the process of the approval.

The existence of the document was exclusively reported by Asahi last week. Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshihide Suga, dismissed the existence of the document, doubting it to be “a sort of anonymous muckraking document.” Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Hirokazu Matsuno, confirmed that such a document did not found from the Ministry after quick investigation in the organization.

Maekawa resisted the process of investigation that denied existing document. Asahi obtained eight-page document in A4 size, which described that a staff in Cabinet Office told a staff with MEXT about intention of “the highest level in Prime Minister’s Official Residence.” Maekawa remembered that the document was presented by his staff last fall. He had six meetings with his staff on the issue of establishing new veterinary faculty and received a document titled “Reference from Cabinet Office on Establishing New Veterinary Faculty” in the meeting on September 28^th.

Maekawa revealed Asahi that he felt political pressure from the document. “Anyone can be careful about it. I cannot say that I did not feel pressured,” told Maekawa about intention from “the highest level.” Maekawa regretted his weakness in resisting the pressure from Cabinet Office, which had requested MEXT not to deal with the issue.

The opposite parties are going to accuse Abe of his possible distortion of educational policy. Democratic Party is requesting testimony of Maekawa in the Diet to investigate political intervention on Kake Gakuen issue.