Shady elements have come together in a political crisis that threatens to overwhelm Shinzo Abe, Japan’s right-wing prime minister
It is an irony that the raging storm centres on Moritomo Gakuen, a kindergarten in Osaka which teaches the patriotism and self-sacrifice that prevailed in prewar Japan.
The kindergarten's “honorary headmistress” happened to be one Akie, the prime minister's wife.
This was what happened:
The kindergarten's founders had a plan to build a nationalist school. The land needed was sold by the government for the low price of 134 million yen (£910,000), a seventh of its valuation. Opposition politicians now allege that the discount was given as a favour by Mr Abe’s government.
In a sworn testimony before parliament last year the school's founder, Yasunori Kagoike, stated that Mrs Abe gave him an envelope containing a million yen as a donation from the prime minister.
Mr and Mrs Abe deny the allegations. However, yesterday the finance ministry confirmed reports that documents submitted to parliament were falsified to remove Mrs Abe’s and other politicians’ names.
