A war of words continues over the contents of the memoir of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which was released this month by the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives of Japan. Officials at the time of Abe’s cabinet are evading answers by arguing that they are “outside their jurisdiction.”
According to the reports of the Mainichi Shimbun and the Asahi Shimbun on the 13th, the opposition party intensively questioned former and incumbent officials on the basis of the contents disclosed in the ‘Memoirs of Shinzo Abe’ published on the 8th.
At the center of the war of words is the strife that has accumulated over the years between former Prime Minister Abe and the Ministry of Finance over tax increases.
In his memoirs, the former prime minister described the Ministry of Finance as a group that ‘only cares about the increase in tax revenue, not thinking about the actual economy’ and ‘is content with maintaining an orderly balance of revenue and expenditure even if the country collapses’.
Ryuichi Yoneyama, a member of the Constitutional Democratic Party, asked Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki if the contents of the memoir were true. In response, Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki drew a line, saying, “There is a limit to speculating on Mr. Abe’s mind now, and we cannot know for sure.”
During his tenure, the former prime minister, who had a war of nerves with the finance department over the timing of the tax increase, confessed that he was wary of the finance ministry and the party’s financial reconstruction lawmakers trying to squeeze and pull them down.
Regarding the private school corruption scandal that caused the biggest crisis in his position as prime minister, he said, “The possibility that the issue of selling state land for Moritomo Academy is a ploy by the Ministry of Finance to hold me back is not zero.” It is to raise the suspicion that his corruption may be a political ploy of the Ministry of Finance.
Interrogation on the Northern Territory (4 Islands) was also conducted at the Budget Committee. Satoshi Honjo, a member of the Constitutional Democratic Party, asked if the statement that “at the G20 meeting in Osaka, Japan and Russia agreed to aim for a return agreement” was true. Digital Minister Taro Kono, who served as Foreign Minister at the time, briefly replied, “It is out of his jurisdiction,” and returned to his seat.
In response to Congressman Honjo’s request to ‘speak as Secretary of State at the time’ again, booing broke out in the hall saying, “What kind of advanced Diet is this!”
The reason why opposition lawmakers take issue with the contents of the memoir even after a week after its publication is that former Prime Minister Abe may have violated his “duty of defense” (守秘義務, confidentiality).
In response to Honjo’s question, “Isn’t it correct to violate defense obligations?”, Hirokazu Matsuno, the current Chief Cabinet Secretary, said, “I didn’t read everything (memoirs) either.” drew
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.