Involvement of Prime Minister

Soon after closing the ordinary session of the Diet, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, or MEXT in its own abbreviation, revealed on Tuesday that it discovered new document which indicated involvement of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the decision of allowing Kake Gakuen to establish new veterinary school. Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary, Koichi Hagiuda, told an officer of the MEXT that Abe wanted new division to open in April 2018. Hagiuda denied the facts in the document.

The document found in a shared holder in Technical Education Division of MEXT was titled “10/21 Summary of Reference by Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Hagiuda.” It was about a meeting of Hagiuda and Bureau Chief of Higher Education, Yutaka Tokiwa on October 21^st last year. Deputy Director of Technical Education Division made the document.

According to the document, Hagiuda demanded establishing new veterinary school that would be distinguished from a kind of school for veterinarian of livestock or pet. The condition for that were installing a laboratory for high-level experiment for infectious disease, greater number of professors and curricula than existing schools and studying disease of fish for Shikoku Island where fishery business was thriving.

Political pressure from Hagiuda was explicit. Hagiuda told Tokiwa that he heard from an Advisor for Prime Minister, Hiroto Izumi, as only MEXT was hesitating it, while Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries had approved it. Hagiuda was asked to hear from MEXT about what mattered with it. “Prime Minister’s Residence says it will absolutely do that,” said Hagiuda to Tokiwa.

Furthermore, Hagiuda directly referred to Prime Minister Abe. “Prime Minister set the time limit for opening new school in April 2018. The construction must be done with in twenty-four months. He wanted to decide that plan in this November,” said Hagiuda. He indicated necessity to finish the paper work for the license by March 2017 and Abe’s firm conviction to select high-level professors for educating excellent veterinarians.

Haiguda denied the facts in the document. “I did not hear that Prime Minister concretely made such an order and I did not made such an order to MEXT,” said Hagiuda in a written comment. However, new facts about involvement of Abe may damage Abe administration. In his press conference on Monday, Abe promised to be responsible for explaining the scandal. The opposite parties demand discussion in the Diet. The people are closely watching what Abe is doing next.