17-05-2025
VOX POPULI: Key questions in the Moritomo Gakuen scandal still unanswered
Moritomo Gakuen had planned to open a private elementary school on this plot of land in Toyonaka, Osaka Prefecture, previously owned by the government. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
It saddens me to imagine a scene of black smoke billowing into the sky.
Eighty years ago in this country, pages and pages of official documents were destroyed by the military, which is no surprise.
But the same thing also happened at the Foreign Ministry where, just before and after Japan's defeat in World War II, a whopping 6,698 volumes of diplomatic documents were destroyed, mostly by incineration.
What the ministry's senior bureaucrats feared most was the documents falling into the hands of outsiders. Although there was opposition to destroying them, it appears that the officials ultimately agreed, so they wouldn't be questioned about their war responsibility.
The decision to incinerate was reached on Aug. 7, 1945, the day after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, according to 'Gaiko wo Kiroku shi Kokai suru' (Diplomatic Records and Their Declassification) by Ryuji Hattori.
I am now wondering how many official documents have been destroyed by the Finance Ministry.
It has come to light that some of the ministry's recently declassified documents concerning the Moritomo Gakuen scandal were missing vital parts, many of which were believed to pertain to a certain politician and his wife.
The ministry has admitted to destroying those parts and having acted inappropriately.
In the case of this scandal, what the bureaucrats concerned feared most was being questioned in the Diet by opposition lawmakers.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared at the time, 'Were my wife and I to be told that we are involved (in the scandal), I would immediately resign as prime minister as well as from the Diet.'
But are we supposed to really believe that no politician was involved, or that not a single politician said and did things in anticipation of what Abe would expect?
Over the long term, even documents that are inconvenient to the administration of the time can bear vital testimony and pass on historical lessons. As such, they are not only valuable assets of the people who are living now and will be living in the future but also serve to solemnly protect the honor of those who died fighting injustice over long periods.
Why did the government sell its land at an impossibly low price?
Did the Finance Ministry think it was alright to let insiders 'investigate' the case like it was no big deal, and then claim ignorance because the pertinent documents have been destroyed?
If that is the ministry's position, it could not be more wrong.
The people who created the documents are still around, and so are the people who got rid of them.
I demand that the scandal be re-examined, and thoroughly this time.
--The Asahi Shimbun, May 17
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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
