TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Friday (March 24) neither he nor his wife had made donations to the head of a Japanese nationalist school at the heart of a political scandal that is chipping away at Abe’s support.
School principal Yasunori Kagoike said on Thursday in parliament he had received 1 million yen ($9,000) in an envelope from Abe’s wife, Akie, on behalf of her husband. Kagoike’s educational group, Moritomo Gakuen, is also at the centre of controversy over a sweetheart land deal.
Abe told parliament that no political involvement has been made by him, his wife, or his office in any issues regarding the school.
Abe’s wife also denied making the donation on her Facebook page on Thursday night, but Japan’s largest opposition party has demanded her sworn testimony in parliament.
