Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga waved his greetings right after he was elected president of the LDP in September last year. Tokyo = AFP Yonhap News
In Japan, the image of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, a politician who did not lean against the family background, collapsed. Unlike the hereditary politicians who were called “brothers” at the time of the election of the Liberal Democratic Party’s governor in September last year, he was noticed as a person who climbed the stairs from the bottom to the top, but is rapidly falling due to the illegal entertainment of his eldest son. This is because there were high expectations for the promotion of reforms, such as the destruction of vested interests, with policies that match the level of the public. However, as the fact that Prime Minister Suga’s eldest son has continued to illegally entertain high-ranking officials with his father in the background, criticism is pouring out that it is no different from the existing hereditary politicians.
The eldest son and the executive of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications are not free from illegal entertainment
Shukanbun-shun, a weekly magazine, released audio recordings of Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s eldest son during illegal entertainment. Tokyo = Correspondent Hoe-kyung Kim
Those involved in illegal entertainment are the eldest son of Prime Minister Suga and the officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications under the influence of the Prime Minister. Prime Minister Suga said at the House Budget Committee at the beginning of the controversy that “(the eldest son and I) are completely separate personalities (body)” to the effect that they have nothing to do with him. However, the family and the executives in charge of their own policies cannot be free from management responsibility as they are the main characters of controversy. In addition, hiring the eldest son as secretary, who did not have a special job during the days of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, is far from breaking vested interests.
The reception of Prime Minister Suga’s eldest son, who works for a broadcasting company that is a stakeholder, by the executives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications with satellite broadcasting licensing rights shows the widespread “sontaku” in Japanese society. This is because high-ranking officials are compelled to be conscious of Prime Minister Suga. Prime Minister Suga is a person who has exerted a strong influence on the affairs and personnel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications while serving as general secretary in the first cabinet of Shinzo Abe and the secretary of state for seven years and eight months in the second cabinet.
As a result of self-investigation, 13 officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications have been entertained by the Tohoku Shinsha side, where Prime Minister Suga’s eldest son attends since 2016. Of these, nine people, including Yasuhiro Tanawaki, general affairs officer, were subject to cuts and reprimands. General Secretary Ryota Takeda was also responsible for the management and voluntarily returned three months’ wages, and Yamada Makiko, Minister of Public Affairs of the Prime Minister’s Office, also decided to voluntarily return part of the salary.
“What the hell do I have to eat to get 770,000 won?”
Japan’s Cabinet Office Public Affairs Officer Yamada Makiko attended the House Budget Committee on the 25th as a reference to respond to an opposition lawmaker’s blame for having a meal worth 770,000 won per person with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s eldest son. Tokyo = AP Yonhap News
Yamada Public Affairs Officer received the most attention in the announcement of the investigation. It was revealed that he had dinner with four Tohoku Shinsha officials, including the eldest son of Prime Minister Suga, in November 2019, when he was in office at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. He was selected as the first female prime minister by the second Abe cabinet in 2013, and as the first female minister of public affairs when the Suga cabinet was inaugurated in September last year, he is in charge of every interview with the prime minister.
On the 24th, the budget committee of the House of Representatives raised controversy over excessive meal expenses. An opposition lawmaker questioned, “What on earth would you pay for this amount?”, and Chief Cabinet Secretary Kato Katsunobu, who answered on behalf of Prime Minister Suga, said “wagyu steak and seafood.” Yamada Public Affairs Officer, who attended as a reference, apologized, saying, “It was not a job-related job and I did not know how much the cost came,” and “I deeply reflect on the damage to the credit of public officials by violating the code of ethics.” Regarding the location, he expressed his intention to continue working as the Cabinet Officer.
Consistently as a wife in suspicion…
Candidate Yoshihide Suga (right), who was elected president of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan in September of last year, is receiving a bouquet of congratulations from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, then governor. Tokyo = AFP Yonhap News
The controversy, which was revealed in the weekly magazine Shukanbunshun on the 3rd, is a punishment for public officials, and it seems to be ended in three weeks. Rather than the initial forecast that it would take two or three months, the reason why the controversy prolonged the controversy would hurt the regime.
However, it denies whether or not the nature of the matter, whether or not the close proximity of the people in power and companies, and whether this has affected broadcasting administration. There are many evaluations that this also follows the Abe cabinet consistently with false answers and denials despite numerous suspicions.
Tokyo= Kim Hoe-kyung Correspondent [email protected]
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