Opposition Parties Unsatisfied with Statement on Defamation Scandal

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi submitted a statement of her secretary on her defamation scandal to the chairman of Committee on Budget of the House or Representatives on July 22nd. Takaichi explained that she had not been involved in posting slander on her contenders in presidential election of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) last October. However, the statement indicates that her secretary had some contacts with a technician who created video of defamation, although he argues that he does not remember the details. Opposition parties are not satisfied with the statement. 

Weekly Bunshun magazine reported in April that Takaichi’s campaign for LDP presidential election distributed videos of defamation on Shinjiro Koizumi and Yoshimasa Hayashi through social networking service, which was made with consultation between her secretary Takeshi Kinoshita and internet technician Ken Matsui. It was also doubted that Kinoshita was involved in Matsui’s delivery of cryptocurrency named Sanae Token. Takaichi was repeatedly asked about the truthfulness of the reports by Bunshun in the Diet discussion.

 

In the discussion on the scandal in the budget committee of the Lower House in June, she refused to answer the question of an opposition lawmaker and proposed submission of a statement of her secretary to the committee, instead of spending time for answering the questions on this issue. As the constitution requires prime minister to be responsible for the Diet, Takaichi’s refusal was recognized as abandonment of her responsibility. Opposition parties became furious.

 

Having a month passed, Takaichi submitted the statement written by Kinoshita. In the statement, Kinoshita admitted that he had a virtual conference with Matsui but insisted that he could not remember what he had talked about with Matsui. On the cryptocurrency, Kinoshita revealed that he had heard the name of “Sanae Token” but he did not recognize it as a cryptocurrency.

 

It is unclear whether Takaichi campaign’s involvement in distributing defamation videos violates some laws, or whether Takaichi’s secretary’s knowledge about new cryptocurrency constitutes a crime. However, Takaichi campaign was heavily dependent on social networking services to distribute her messages to the voters. If she had been sending negative information on her contenders during the campaign, it is possible that her legitimacy as the winner of the presidential election is questioned.

 

Opposition parties are focusing on compatibility of Takaichi’s explanation. Yuichi Goto, a lawmaker with Centrist Reform Alliance (CRA) who was asking Takaichi about Sanae Token in June, blamed the statement as not answering his questions. The leader of CRA, Jun-ya Ogawa, demanded Kinoshita to appear to the committee for further hearing. The LDP is not willing to accept Ogawa’s request.

 

Opposition parties have been frustrated with Takaichi’s negative attitude toward the Diet. Takaichi had fewer opportunities to participate in the discussions of the Diet than former prime ministers. Her indifference to Diet discussion, backed by supermajority of her party in the Lower House, causes rigid protest of opposition powers.

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