Japan Finance Ministry: Missing documents in Moritomo scandal were discarded
Akagi Toshio, who worked for a regional bureau of the ministry in western Japan, was forced to falsify documents on the heavily discounted sale of state-owned land to school operator Moritomo Gakuen in 2016.
Akagi committed suicide in 2018.
His wife, Masako, demanded the ministry disclose documents it had voluntarily submitted to prosecutors. The ministry on April 4 released over 2,200 pages of materials, including information on negotiations with Moritomo.
The released documents were mostly numbered in chronological order. But many of the numbers were missing. Akagi's lawyers asked the ministry for an explanation.
On Friday, the Finance Ministry issued a written response and released a table showing the process of the land deal.
The ministry says that 382 numbered documents were likely created in the course of dealings with the school operator between June 2013 and June 2016. It added that of these, 74 went missing, and 52 of them were never made public.
The ministry says many of the missing parts are believed to contain references to people in political circles. Most of the documents likely went missing in the record-disposal process.
It was revealed in 2017 that records of negotiations with the school operator had been intentionally destroyed to reduce materials that could lead to parliamentary questioning.
The ministry says it believes that this is when many of the missing documents were discarded.
Among the 52 missing records are documents from April 28, 2014, in which Moritomo's former head Kagoike Yasunori showed bureau officials a photo of him with the wife of then-Prime Minister Abe Shinzo. Kagoike reportedly claimed that Abe's wife had told him, "You should proceed because this is a good piece of land."
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Japan Times
33 minutes ago
- Japan Times
Junglia brought dinos back to Okinawa. But will it bring tourists?
Halfway up the winding road from Okinawa's coast into the rugged, mountainous interior of the northern Motobu Peninsula, you might rightfully wonder if this is actually the right way to Japan's newest theme park. For much of the way from the city of Nago, one of just a pair of two-lane roads lead north through this seldom touristed stretch of the main island of Japan's southernmost prefecture. The roadside flora will block your view of all but your immediate surroundings, and unlike the common approaches to the country's other premier amusement parks, there will be little signage, themed decor or other indications that you're on the correct route. But then you'll crest a hill and see something curious poking above the subtropical treetops: the craning neck and crested head of a brachiosaur — the herald of Junglia. Officially open from July 25 in the northern Okinawa city of Nakijin, Junglia covers 60 hectares of a former golf course with 22 attractions and stage shows, two restaurants and an assortment of food carts and gift shops, plus Spa Junglia, an adjoining collection of baths, saunas and pools (plus another restaurant). At Panorama Dining, one of Junglia's two proper restaurants that also doubles as the rooftop Inifinity Terrace overlook, guests can pay extra to sit in balcony tables made to look like birds' nests overlooking the park grounds. | OWEN ZIEGLER The park's opening is both a major development and a massive departure for the tourism industry in Okinawa, an island more synonymous with beachside resorts than thrill rides. And yet the two companies behind Junglia, Japan Entertainment and Katana, Inc., believe that there's potential in this new frontier of Okinawa's tourism industry. Indeed, economist and Kansai University professor emeritus Katsuhiro Miyamoto says that construction of the park alone helped create 70,045 jobs and, over 15 years, the wider economic impact will total ¥6.8 trillion ($46 billion) — a significant sum for what is routinely one of Japan's least affluent prefectures per capita. But that's only if Junglia's would-be guests agree that the park is worth the long journey to a remote part of a remote prefecture. After visiting Junglia for myself as part of a media preview days before the park's official opening, I believe most guests will find the mix of adventure sports and dinosaur-themed experiences as charming as I did — as long as they adjust a few key expectations beforehand. Welcome to the jungle A major misstep before the park's official opening was the use of AI-generated imagery to promote the park's attractions, restaurants and decor. At the time of writing, all of these visuals remain on Junglia's website. A few images are more or less evocative of what guests can expect on the ground, but others are bare of any meaningful context: For the Gravity Drop attraction, the main image shows only a woman in freefall with a jungle below. Add in seemingly machine-translated text on the website (the English page for a zipline attraction opens with: 'Spread your arms wide like a phoenix and flap them vigorously.') and even in the week leading up to the park's opening, the general public only had the faintest idea of what a visit to Junglia might actually look like. Before the park's official opening, Junglia relied on computer-generated imagery to set guests' expectations — a misstep that it may take time to recover from. | JUNGLIA It's a shame, too, because standing atop the Infinity Terrace, the first main point of interest after passing through Junglia's main entrance, the park unfolds before you in an artfully crafted way. Several prominent landmarks rise above the tree line: the brachiosaur head (part of the action-themed Dinosaur Safari ride), a hot-air balloon (the Horizon Balloon attraction) and a series of steel structures, joints wrapped in faux rope bindings for a haphazard effect, that comprise the adventure sports-themed Jungle Extremes area. From this perspective, Junglia's layout gives guests the impression that descending toward whichever landmark piques their interest is the start of an adventurous trek. For adrenaline junkies, the first stop will be the Jungle Extremes area. Here, six attractions (one additional ride has been postponed for 'safety checks') offer Junglia's most visceral thrills. On Titan's Swing, two groups of four don helmets and harnesses (required safety equipment for all of the Jungle Extremes attractions) before taking seats on a metal bench. This is hoisted up nearly 9 meters and then released to freely pendulum out and over the surrounding treetops at a top speed of 30 kilometers per hour. On the adjacent Sky Phoenix and Bungee Glider rides, guests traverse 280 meters of zipline at times 40 meters above the valley below and, on the latter, bouncing as much as 5 meters from the line above at max speeds of 35 kph. The Human Arrow attraction puts bungee cords to a different use — slingshotting a single rider into the sky before recoil kicks in — while the Sky-End Trekking and Tree-Top Trekking activities offer obstacle course-type challenges on 84-meter-long suspension bridges at points 11 meters above the forest below. During Junglia's media preview, only Titan's Swing and Sky-End Trekking were open to experience (the zipline attractions were displayed but not made available). For the former, the relatively manual nature of the ride made for a more visceral experience: Riders are individually guided onto the swing by park staff (Junglia refers to them as 'navigators'), who then roll away the platform keeping the swing in stasis before engaging a winch to raise the swing to its launch point. The Titan's Swing attraction exemplifies Junglia's adventure sports-inspired rides — perfectly enjoyable activities that don't break much new ground. | OWEN ZIEGLER I don't doubt the safety of Junglia's thrill rides, but the fact that they require much more manual preparation than the automated nature of boarding a conventional roller coaster does contribute to the adrenaline rush. On Sky-End Trekking, I found this simulated sense of danger well balanced: High above the treetops, my legs starting to tremble from perching on a single plank on the suspended walkway, the thought crept into my mind about what would actually happen were I to slip (I suspect the worst injury possible would be a sharp yank from the harness and a bruise to my ego as park staff pluck a dangling me from the safety line overhead and help me regain my footing). Soon enough, though, you realize that the only way to terra firma is straight through the rest of the precarious course. It's difficult to find fault in these Jungle Extremes rides on their own merits, but there's little new ground broken here. At their best, Junglia's thrill rides approximate the adrenaline rushes you could get from a bungee jumping or skydiving outfit elsewhere. Also, be forewarned that the queues at these attractions will be long. Whereas a roller coaster might ferry dozens of passengers upon each departure, Junglia's highest-capacity thrill ride, Titan's Swing, can board just eight passengers at once; the lowest-capacity, Human Arrow, can hold only one. Factor in the time required to weigh each passenger for safety guidelines, fit each with gear and then load and unload each ride and you're looking at queues that I expect to move very slowly — even during the park's quietest periods. A park, Jurassic Alongside adventure sports experiences, Junglia's other main draw is undoubtedly dinosaurs. Almost anywhere you go in the park, the brachiosaur head is visible above the treeline, but to actually get up close and personal with any animatronic dinos, you'll have to make your way to the north of the park. Here, in stark contrast to the creatively titled rides in the Jungle Extremes section, you'll find the somewhat blandly named Dinosaur Safari and Finding Dinosaurs attractions. In Dinosaur Safari, Junglia's most action-packed attraction, several escaped Tyrannasaurus rexes wreak havoc on park guests and the soldiers assigned to protect them. | OWEN ZIEGLER In Dinosaur Safari, the ride proper begins with a drive through a 'Jurassic Park'-esque dinosaur habitat in an open-topped jeep (try to sit in the back of your vehicle, preferably on the left-hand side for the best views of what's to come). A Japanese-language voiceover adds a bit of flavor to the jaunt as robotic dinosaurs — triceratops, ankylosaurs and more — appear in the brush. The brachiosaur visible throughout Junglia turns out to be straddling the road, and it's fairly gratifying to see this ever-present landmark integrated into the attraction when your jeep drives through the towering dinosaur's legs. Then, an alarm blares — a Tyrannosaurus rex has breached containment somewhere in the habitat. A soldier guides you out of the jeep and toward a purpose-built shelter, but of course a technical glitch prevents the door from opening. When not one but two T. rexes appear from just beyond the walls hemming in this section, one of the dinos chomps down on the unfortunate soldier (who, in a clever twist, grabs onto handles inside the T. rex's mouth, which then raises the performer high into the air). Guests are guided back into the vehicles by navigators in the throes of faux panic, and a dash to safety ensues as more T. rexes give chase through the underbrush. Much like Jungle Extremes, the thrills to be had on Dinosaur Safari aren't pushing any kind of envelope. In fact, the most unexpected moment of the attraction might be toward the end, when guests can pose for photos in front of a subdued T. rex that turns out to have a little fight left. Instead of the nominally action-packed Dinosaur Safari, though, the child-friendly Finding Dinosaurs attraction struck me as Junglia's more put-together attraction. Here, there are no jeeps, little danger and a basic story: A baby triceratops is lost somewhere inside a dinosaur conservatory, and a navigator enlists visitors' help in locating the critter. Along the way, you'll encounter several animatronic dinos, who growl and coo at your guide in interactions so seamlessly paced that I'm still wondering whether she was remotely triggering the robot's responses or had just perfected the rhythm of her performance so adroitly. Dinosaur-themed attractions are one of Junglia's biggest draws, but what really breathes life into the animatronic creatures is how park staff interact with them. | OWEN ZIEGLER After you shuffle under low-hanging vines, propel a handcar down some track and enter a winding canyon and the cave it conceals, the lights go out. The navigator leads a call for the lost dino, who appears in a flourish amid a dazzle of light. It's a moment that is sure to captivate young adventurers, and it's followed by a cherry on top: At the start of Finding Dinosaurs, each guest's name or nickname is entered into a tablet; upon completion of the mission, these names are read out over a mock field radio in a congratulatory message — an example of how Junglia excels on little pleasures, perhaps much more so than marquee moments. To Junglia or not to Junglia Of course, the question remains: Is Junglia worth the cost of entry, not to mention the effort required to reach its remote location? The theme park has made headlines for selling tickets in separate tiers for Japan residents (¥6,930 for adults; ¥4,950 for children ages 4 to 11) and overseas visitors (¥8,800 and ¥5,400, respectively). Junglia also offers 'Premium Pass' tickets for guests who want to skip lines for individual attractions, but these are egally priced. While Hyogo Prefecture's Himeji Castle has announced higher prices for visitors to the city (including Japan residents) from March 2026 and Kyoto is discussing charging more to overseas tourists who use the city's public transport, Junglia's pricing structure is unique: Unlike cities that are trying to curb overtourism, what new theme park doesn't want to attract as many visitors in its opening weeks as possible? Despite lacking the brand familiarity of a Disney or Universal Studios amusement park, Junglia nonetheless offers nearly 600 unique souvenirs available for purchase. | OWEN ZIEGLER In that light, the park's pricing structure may strike many would-be visitors as explicitly profit-driven — even if discounts for residents has long been the norm in Southeast Asia, Egypt and other tourist destinations across the world. However, I would argue that time, not money, should be your primary consideration in weighing a trip to Junglia. From Naha International Airport, it's a 90-minute drive in good conditions to the park entrance; if you're reliant on public transportation, it'll be close to two hours on an expressway bus before transferring in the Nago area to a 20- or 30-minute official park shuttle. All that makes Junglia hard to recommend to travelers on tight schedules (let alone those with cumbersome luggage to schlep around). But Katana CEO and Junglia mastermind Tsuyoshi Morioka has been vocal that success for Junglia means success for Okinawa's underdeveloped northern communities. Here, I agree: If the park is going to foster a community of happy customers, it won't be from those jetting into Okinawa, rushing up north to the park and then suffering in its inevitably long queues. It'll be from those willing to take a bit more time, to extend their vacations by a day or two, to turn a day trip to the Motobu Peninsula's renowned Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium into an overnight stay at a local hotel and dinner at an area restaurant. After all, when it took dinosaurs 65 million years to return to Okinawa, what's an extra day?
Japan Times
40 minutes ago
- Japan Times
Man's acquittal over 1986 murder of Fukui junior high school girl finalized
A high court ruling that acquitted a 60-year-old man in a high-profile retrial over a 1986 murder of a 15-year-old junior high school girl in the city of Fukui was finalized on Friday — 38 years after he was arrested. Prosecutors said they decided not to file an appeal against the Nagoya High Court's branch in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, that handed down the ruling last month on Shoshi Maekawa. "We are not thinking about apologizing (to Maekawa), but we take it seriously that he had been serving a sentence for a considerable amount of time," said Katsuhiko Hama, deputy chief prosecutor of the Nagoya High Public Prosecutor's Office, in a news conference. Maekawa was previously found guilty of the crime and served a prison sentence of seven years. Final appeals to the Supreme Court can be made only on grounds of constitutional violations or conflict with precedents. The prosecutors issued a statement saying they could not find any such reasoning to appeal. In the latest ruling, the high court said that eyewitness testimonies, which had served as the grounds for the earlier guilty verdict, could not be relied upon because there was a possibility of investigative authorities having unfairly led witnesses to testify. The prosecutors' statement said they took the criticism to heart and think they should learn from the case. Throughout the years, Maekawa consistently denied the murder charge against him. His court battle centered on the credibility of the testimonies of his six acquaintances, including a statement by one of them that the person had seen Maekawa covered in bloodstains, as there was no direct evidence linking him to the crime. The presiding judge said that investigation documents disclosed in the retrial showed that a television program one witness claimed to have watched on the night of the murder was broadcast on a different day. He criticized public prosecutors for failing to correct the error before the guilty ruling was handed down on Maekawa despite having known about it, saying, "There is no choice but to assume that the prosecutors attempted to hide inconvenient facts, and they are insincere and sinful." Maekawa was arrested over the murder in 1987 — at the age of 21 — but the Fukui District Court found him not guilty of the crime. Subsequently, the Nagoya High Court's Kanazawa branch overturned the ruling and sentenced him to seven years in prison. The sentence was eventually finalized by the Supreme Court. After serving his prison term, Maekawa sought a retrial, which was initially granted in 2011 but was then revoked by the Nagoya High Court. He filed for a retrial again in 2022, and the high court decided in October last year to proceed with it. Translated by The Japan Times
Japan Times
40 minutes ago
- Japan Times
Is this the end of Japan's 'big tent' parties?
In Japan's recent Upper House election, four traditional parties — the Liberal Democratic Party, Komeito, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Japanese Communist Party — suffered the most significant losses. The LDP and Komeito together lost 24 seats, saw a sharp drop in the national vote and lost their Upper House majority. The CDP lost one seat but, as the largest opposition party, still placed a surprising fourth with just 12.5% of the national vote. The JCP lost four seats. The LDP and the CDP are considered the "big tent" parties because both have clear conservative and liberal wings. The big winners of the day were newer conservative parties — the Democratic Party for the People, Sanseito and the Conservative Party of Japan — along with the far-left Reiwa Shinsengumi. Sanseito picked up 14 seats and finished third with 12.55% of the national vote. The DPP gained 12 seats and placed second with 12.88%. The CPJ, contesting its first election, won two seats, and Reiwa added one. If you add the national vote totals by conservative leaning and liberal leaning, you find something quite interesting. Conservative parties gathered over over 35 million votes, while liberal parties only gathered around 17 million. Most commentary in Japan speaks in terms of the ruling parties versus the opposition. But there is an argument that the current turmoil in Japanese politics comes from the fact that the LDP and CDP lack clear policies because they constantly try to balance the conflicting views of their conservative and liberal wings. Today's Japanese voters are seeking clarity on issues vital to them, not an outdated homogenized message. The LDP and CDP are losing to newer parties that have clear policies and sharper messaging. Some advocates of political reform in Japan lament the fact that the country's opposition parties are unable to coordinate their activities effectively to defeat the ruling LDP-Komeito coalition. A coalition of the opposition, comprising strongly conservative parties alongside extreme liberal parties, has always been more challenging to manage than even the traditional big tent parties. It is no wonder that they cannot coordinate an election strategy after the most recent Upper House election or agree whether to file a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, which they are struggling with today. Of course, there is no credibility that they could run a government. Other reformers have complained that Japan lacks a system of rotating ruling parties between the conservative and liberal camps. Perhaps that is what comes next if the big tent parties break up. Is that conceivable? After losing three primary elections in the past 10 months under the leadership of Ishiba, there is now a war under way within the LDP to force him to resign. With the full support of the liberal wing, Ishiba won the LDP leadership role in 2024, which handed him the prime ministerial chair, an inconceivable event had conservative wing leader Shinzo Abe not been murdered in 2022. Ishiba's election came on the heels of what should have been a minor political funds reporting scandal that involved members of the conservative wing. However, even former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's group had reporting issues. Since then, the liberal wing, first under Kishida and then Ishiba, has used the scandal at every opportunity to sideline conservative members. The conservative wing is ready to revolt if Ishiba refuses to resign and accept accountability. So, while not certain, the LDP is as close as it has been since 1955 to a split. CDP members have never really gotten along, given all the splits and mergers since the party emerged from the remnants of the Democratic Party of Japan. Before the recent election, public accusations and demands from former party leaders that others should leave the party surfaced. The CDP now seems ripe for more change. A recent poll by the Yomiuri of all the opposition parties' preferences for the next prime minister, assuming they came from the LDP, might provide some insight. Sanae Takaichi of the LDP's conservative wing was the favorite among members of the more conservative parties such as the DPP, Sanseito and the CDP. Ishiba seemed more popular among the members of the liberal parties. Birds of a feather? The Yomiuri poll is interesting on two fronts: It may signal how feasible it will be for Ishiba, assuming he remains, to create a new ruling coalition with the addition of one of the conservative parties, an absolute necessity now that he has lost the majority in both houses of the parliament. Would Takaichi not find it easier? Secondly, it also signals how feasible it would be for a Takaichi-led conservative wing of the LDP, not only to split off from the LDP, but also to assemble a new majority under a new conservative party banner made up of the four conservative parties and perhaps a conservative group that splits off from the CDP. After the election results, Sanseito leader Sohei Kamiya suggested that the LDP is losing power because no one can understand what the LDP stands for anymore, given the differing views of the conservative and liberal wings. The same thing could be said for the CDP. Perhaps the era of big tent parties has come to an end and a realignment along ideological lines is where Japanese politics is headed. Edo Naito is a commentator on Japanese politics, law and history. He is a retired international business attorney and has held board of director and executive positions at several U.S. and Japanese multinational companies.
