Opposition Rejects Explanation About Pm's Son
Japanese opposition parties are stepping up criticism of the communications ministry's handling of alleged questionable dining involving the eldest son of Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide.
Weekly magazine Shukan Bunshun reported earlier this month that Suga's son, who works for a satellite broadcasting company, treated four senior officials of the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry to meals and gave them gifts on several occasions.
The magazine said this is a violation of a law that prohibits government officials from being entertained by interested parties.
Bunshun Online reported on Wednesday that Suga's son and one of the officials, Akimoto Yoshinori, who heads the ministry's information and communications bureau, discussed the broadcasting business at one of the meals.
The online platform released a recording of what it says is part of their conversation.
The Constitutional Democratic Party and other opposition parties promptly demanded an explanation from the government and the ruling bloc.
At a directors' meeting of the Lower House Budget Committee on Thursday, the ministry said Akimoto has admitted he is speaking in the recording, but says he does not remember whether there was any discussion about the broadcasting business.
The ministry said it will conduct another round of interviews with the officials concerned following the new revelations.
The opposition has been demanding to know how many times the officials dined with Suga's son and who paid for what. The ministry said it will try to submit its findings by Monday.
Opposition lawmakers insist that the ministry's explanation is inadequate. They delayed the start of Thursday's committee sessions by nearly three hours.
The deputy head of the Constitutional Democratic Party, Tsujimoto Kiyomi, said the ministry's probe is unacceptable, as it is half-hearted and lacks sincerity. She called it an attempt to defend Akimoto and cover up what happened.
She also said it would be best to summon Suga's son to the Diet as an unsworn witness to ask why he kept inviting senior ministry officials to dine with him.