The head of a nationalist school operator in Japan at the center of a controversial cut-price land deal reiterated Thursday that he had received a donation of 1 million yen (8,900 dollars U.S. dollars) from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's wife.
"I thought Mrs. Abe had a deep understanding of our educational philosophies and she came to the school three times and viewed our facilities and classes," Moritomo Gakuen President Yasunori Kagoike told a press conference Thursday.
"On Sept. 5th she came into my office and I met her personally there. It was then that she said there was 1 million yen in the envelope she handed me and that it was from (prime minister) Shinzo Abe," Kagoike said at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan (FCCJ) in Tokyo.
"Now she says she does not recollect this, but for me it was a great honor, so I remember it clearly," he said, adding, "As a person who is trying to advance the education of children in Japan I had hoped to open a new school and as an educator I'm grateful to all of those who have given me support, including Prime Minister Abe and his wife Akie and all the officials of Osaka prefecture."
He went on to say he had hoped to show the prime minister and his wife his appreciation for their support in the opening of his elementary school by naming the school the "Abe Shinzo Memorial Elementary School."
Kagoike's latest remarks came following a day of giving sworn testimony in both chambers of Japan's parliament.
Speaking under oath, Kagoike stated that Akie Abe gave him a donation in 2015 when she was at a kindergarten, run by him, to give a speech there.
A lawmaker from Abe's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) warned Kagoike at this juncture against presenting mistruths in parliament.
Shoji Nishida said he had spoken with the prime minister's wife and stated that Kagoike's version of the facts were in stark contrast to Akie Abe's version of events.
Abe himself has consistently denied the claims, with Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga saying that the prime minister's office has clarified the fact that no such donations were made on the prime minister's or his wife's behalf to the scandal-hit operator.
Kagoike, however, told the House of Councillors Budget Committee Thursday that he received an envelop containing 1 million yen from Akie Abe and was told by the prime minister's wife that it was from the prime minister himself.
He added that there was no remaining evidence of the envelope used for the alleged transaction.
Senior Liberal Democratic Party members involved in grilling Kagoike in the hearing Thursday, however, strongly implied he was providing false testimony under oath in parliament.
Kagoike has previously been accused of fraud and of falsifying evidence in ongoing investigations surrounding Moritomo Gakuen regarding its purchasing of a cut-price plot of land from the government, with the land being hugely discounted from its appraisal price.
On this point Kagoike said that he believed there were likely politicians involved in the plot of land being reduced so heavily in price and said that he himself had been surprised by 800 million yen being knocked off the land's original appraisal price.
Kagoike went on to name three politicians whom he had asked for assistance with opening the school, namely LDP upper house lawmaker Takuji Yanagimoto, former LDP lawmaker Issei Kitagawa and Toru Azuma, a senior member of opposition party Nippon Ishin no Kai.
Funds for the school to be built were allegedly raised using Abe's name and his wife, Akie.
Akie was supposed to serve as honorary principal of the school.
She has since stepped down as the scandal has widened with video of the school's nationalist agenda also being beamed across social media platforms and regular broadcasting sites, drawing harsh local and international condemnation.
But Kagoike maintained that he had been in touch with Akie for advice for building the school and that he had given her 100,000 yen for one of the speeches she made at his school.
He said, however, that recently he had received an email from her that he believed was an attempt to make sure he kept quiet on issues pertaining to the unfolding scandal, otherwise known as a "gag order."
Kagoike also claimed in parliament Thursday that as the scandal was heating up last week, Nobuhisa Sagawa, current director general of the Finance Ministry's Financial Bureau, indirectly told Kagoike to "lay low." Sagawa has already denied any involvement in the land deal.
The conflict in stories may lead to Akie being called by opposition lawmakers to give testimony, but Abe's tops spokesperson Suga, quashed the idea in a press briefing Thursday stating "We should be cautious about summoning people to the Diet over acts that present no legal issue."
Meanwhile, a controversial kindergarten also run by Moritomo Gakuen found itself in the headlines recently for its imperialistic-style of edification, with the school being slammed for disseminating hate speech about Korean and Chinese residents of Japan, as well as for instances, currently under investigation, regarding cases of child abuse.
As well as the alleged donation, Kagoike was also pressed in parliament over why local authorities gave him an easier-than-usual time in signing off on the school to be opened.
He was also grilled over multiple and possibly erroneous construction cost estimates filed to the prefecture, to boost perceptions that Moritomo Gakuen was more financially secure than was the case.
Kagoike in parliament opted not to answer questions as to why the estimate of construction costs in a contract submitted to the prefecture were completely different from contracts given to two other bodies.
He refused to answer saying that a criminal complaint may be made against Moritomo Gakuen for such matters.
Japan's Defense Minister Tomomi Inada is also known to have links to Kagoike. She has come under fire in parliament with calls for her to step down for lying about her ties to the operator.
She initially denied having represented Moritomo Gakuen or giving it legal advise in her days as a lawyer before she became a politician.
She subsequently retracted her denial in parliament and while back-peddling apologized and said she had in fact given the operator legal counsel and represented it in a trial.
She told parliament by way of an excuse that her memory had failed her, an excuse which was deemed unacceptable by the opposition bloc, who suggested she was unfit to carry out her ministerial duties as the nation's defense minister and should step down.
Inada's husband and father have also been linked to Kagoike, who on Thursday described himself as a "scapegoat."
"The prime minister and his wife both showed great support initially for the opening of the new school and were highly-supportive of our educational philosophy and I don't know why they have both changed their minds and I'm a little angry about it," Kagoike said, adding that he felt he was being used as a "scapegoat" for others' actions over the school and the land deal.
"I hope others are invited to give testimony in the Diet to get to the bottom of all these matters. The most important thing is to get to the truth of the matter," he said.
Abe has previously said that if he or his wife is found to have been involved in giving the operator a donation to help build a new elementary school, or in any other way connected to the land deal, then he will step down as prime minister and a lawmaker.
As to whether he felt the prime minister should resign if he was indeed connected to the scandal, Kagoike said there were "forces at work behind the scenes."
"There's a strange atmosphere and powers working behind the scenes and I think we need to work to get to the bottom of these. As to whether the prime minister should resign, it's a very painful question for me and I think that is something he (Abe) should decide by himself," said Kagoike.
Kagoike's testimony on Thursday marked the first time in five years that a sworn witness has been summoned to give testimony in parliament.
Kagoike could be charged with perjury if he is shown to have given false testimony in parliament.
