February 22. According to news from Japan’s TBS television station on the 22nd, the case of “political and business collusion” by the eldest son of Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga continued to ferment. On the same day, Yoshihide Suga made an apology for the incident at the House Budget Committee.
Yoshihide Suga
Yoshihide Suga said: “Some civil servants have violated the ethical norms of (national civil servants). My eldest son was involved in this matter. I sincerely apologize for this.” He emphasized that he hopes that the truth of the matter will be exposed as soon as possible.
“I will The most important thing is to clarify the relationship between events without shielding or concealing.”
Yoshihide Suga’s eldest son, Masatake Suga, works for the broadcasting company “Tohoku Shinsha”.
Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications stated on the 22nd that 12 members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (4 cadres and 8 employees) had received Suga’s reception, suspected of violating the national civil service ethics code, and had 38 dinners in 5 years.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications has already issued a punishment decision on these employees on the 24th.
Yoshihide Suga once served as the Minister of General Affairs of Japan, and when his eldest son first entered the job of the “Tohoku Shinsha”, he reminded him to “keep a distance from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.”
After the incident was exposed, Suga Yoshihide once expressed “surprise”.
In his recent parliamentary defense, he was asked whether his eldest son had repeatedly received officials from the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
He avoided making a clear statement on the grounds that “because it is currently investigating, I should not intervene in this matter.” Yoshihide Suga also said that after the incident was exposed, he received a call from his eldest son.
At that time, he told him that if his company conducts an investigation, he should “actually respond based on facts.” Yoshihide Suga also emphasized that he and the eldest son are “different individuals.”
Japanese media previously reported that Suga was an executive of the satellite broadcasting and television program production company-“Tohoku Shinsha” and a director of a group subsidiary company, and that he had dinner mainly officials from the satellite broadcasting management department.
There is a stake. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications’ general affairs review officer Yawaki Yasuhiko, Masato Yoshida and others have accepted the hospitality of Yoshihide Suga’s eldest son, including dining at high-end restaurants and accepting taxi tickets.
In addition to these 12 people, the Cabinet Publicity Officer Yamada Makiko also accepted a banquet from the president of the “Tohoku Shinsha” and Suga in November 2019 when he was the general affairs review officer.
The meal price per person was 7.4. Ten thousand yen (about 800$) or more.
According to the Japanese National Public Servants Ethics Law and Code of Ethics, public servants are prohibited from accepting entertainment or gifts from interested parties.
The Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Hara Kun Akira said after investigating Suga Masasu that “he did not act inappropriately or disrupt administrative work.”
