Japan PM takes blame for loss of trust over scandal

19/3/2018 13:22

        Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo
        Abe, his popularity plunging amid a cronyism scandal, took
        responsibility on Monday for a loss of trust in his government
        but denied he or his wife had intervened in a land sale to a
        school operator with ties to his wife.
        
        The finance ministry's announcement last week that documents
        about the discounted sale to educational body Moritomo Gakuen
        had been altered have sparked a political crisis for Abe, as
        suspicions swirl about a cover-up and opposition parties call
        for both the premier and Finance Minister Taro Aso to resign.
        
        Interrogated by a parliamentary panel on Monday, Abe denied
        directing changes to the documents, in which references to Abe,
        his wife and Aso were removed from the finance ministry's
        records of the land sale. He told the panel he had not even
        known of the documents' existence.
        
        "I did not direct that the documents be altered," he said.
        
        "In fact, I didn't even know that they existed at all, so
        how could I have done that?"
        
        Two opinion polls published over the weekend showed Abe's
        support diving to its lowest since he took office in December
        2012, and others showed a majority of Japanese believed he bore
        some responsibility for the scandal.
        
        In an apparent nod to those polls, several of which showed
        his support sinking into the 30-percent level, Abe acknowledged
        that public trust had been shaken.
        
        "As head of the government, I keenly feel my responsibility
        in the matter of the people losing their trust in the
        administration," he added.
        
        "Ultimately, the responsibility lies with me as prime
        minister. I would like to apologize once again."
        
        Opposition lawmakers said answers to their questions were
        unlikely to come from the premier or Aso and renewed their call
        for Nobuhisa Sagawa, who had headed the division that submitted
        the documents before he became tax agency chief in July, to
        testify in parliament. Sagawa resigned 10 days ago.
        
        A majority of people in the opinion polls backed the calls
        for Sagawa to testify, as well as Abe's wife, Akie. But Abe said
        on Monday that he would answer any questions on her behalf.
        
        The scandal could dash Abe's hopes of winning a third
        three-year term as head of his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in
        a September leadership election.
        
        LDP lawmaker Seichiro Murakami, a long-time Abe critic,
        called for Abe to resign last week.
        
        Worries about political instability briefly sent the Nikkei
        share average to its lowest point in more than a week on Monday,
        but market players are waiting to see what comes next.
        
        "The point from here on in is whether or not there is proof
        that Prime Minister Abe or those near him directly ordered the
        alteration of the documents. If that comes out, the risk of
        Abe's resignation will rise," said Naomi Muguruma, senior market
        economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.
        
        Abe has fallen behind his main rival in a survey of who
        voters would like to see as premier.
        
        According to a Nippon TV poll, 24 percent thought former
        defense minister Shigeru Ishiba was "most appropriate".
        
        Ishiba was followed by 21.2 percent for Shinjiro Koizumi,
        the telegenic son of former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi.
        
        Abe drew 14 percent while the biggest percentage - 25
        percent - said they didn't know.