The Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, did not want to take heed of opposition's call to resign. (Image via Euronews)

Abe rebukes opposition's call for resignation

Alfonsus Adi Putra
Politics & Economic
News Flash Japan
Jan 23, 2020
1785
Answering the opposition call for resignation, the Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, said on Wednesday that he did not pay any mind. The call emerged after the controversial state-funded hanami (cherry-blossom viewing party). Abe said that he broke no law.

Meanwhile, the opposition party accused Abe of misusing the annual event for his personal gain by inviting his own supporters. Moreover, the allegation also went over Abe’s office for hosting a lavish dinner at a luxurious hotel in Tokyo with a suspicious price, lower than usual.

The leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP) as the fiercest opposition of Abe, Yukio Edano, said that Abe’s scandal might destroy Japanese society’s moral. Edano added that the PM should clarify further that he is clean. However, if the allegation continues and Abe could not defend himself, Edano and his party “strongly” urge Abe to resign from the post.

On the first day of the 150-day regular session starting Monday, Edano began the questioning by striking Abe’s controversial scandal. However, the peculiar thing under question was the guest list.

It is a long practice that the guest list consists of people recommended by the cabinet, the ruling party, and of course, the PM himself. The opposition also pointed out the poor handling of the guests' list that some “dirty” guests – having violated the Japanese law - were also invited.

For his defense, Abe said that the hanami party was meant to honor the athletes and celebrities for their accomplishment, a reason Abe had repeated. The PM also denied the vote-buying allegations by Edano. Abe pointed his finger at Cabinet Office and the Cabinet Secretariat. Both offices are responsible for screening the guest list.

Not only the controversial hanami, but Edano and friends also questioned Abe’s administration that introduced casinos in Japan, following the arrest of Tsukasa Akimoto, a former member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). He was arrested due to suspicion of receiving bribes from a Chinese gambling operator.

The leader of the Democratic Party for the People (DPFP) and also an opposition against Abe, Yuichiro Tamaki, said that Akimoto’s arrest was “staggering”. Moreover, Tamaki called Abe out, telling that the PM should apologize to the Japanese people and freeze the casino projects which Akimoto initialized.

Abe addressed his regret for Akimoto’s arrest. Nonetheless, his administration plans to continue the casino project as a part of “integrated resorts’ to advance Japan’s tourism sector.

Scraping the scandal off the plate, Abe wanted the session to focus more on the revision of the Japanese pacifist, post-war constitution, having been running since 1947. The Japanese PM aims to add a reference to the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) in the revision to end the debate over SDF’s legality.

It requires a two-thirds majority in both chambers of parliament before the revision can be issued to a national referendum. Nonetheless, pro-amendment forces’ votes fall short.

Source: https://bit.ly/2umBMZI

Politics , Government , Scandal , Economy , Asia , Japan , Shinzo-Abe , Reformation , Constitution , LDP , CDP , DPFP , Hanami , Casino