Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06TOKYO7179
2006-12-28 19:10:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Tokyo
Cable title:
ABE FACES YET ANOTHER CABINET SCANDAL AND
how-toVZCZCXRO5895 OO RUEHFK RUEHKSO RUEHNH DE RUEHKO #7179 3621910 ZNY CCCCC ZZH O 281910Z DEC 06 FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9471 INFO RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 4157 RUEHFK/AMCONSUL FUKUOKA PRIORITY 9372 RUEHNH/AMCONSUL NAHA PRIORITY 1854 RUEHOK/AMCONSUL OSAKA KOBE PRIORITY 2815 RUEHKSO/AMCONSUL SAPPORO PRIORITY 0395 RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY RHMFISS/COMUSJAPAN YOKOTA AB JA PRIORITY RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY RHMFISS/DISA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY RUEATRS/TREASURY DEPT WASHDC PRIORITY RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L TOKYO 007179
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPT PASS FAS
E.O. 12958: DECL: END OF US-JAPAN ALLIANCE
TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON JA
SUBJECT: ABE FACES YET ANOTHER CABINET SCANDAL AND
RESIGNATION
Classified By: Charge d'Affairs Joe Donovan for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
.
C O N F I D E N T I A L TOKYO 007179
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPT PASS FAS
E.O. 12958: DECL: END OF US-JAPAN ALLIANCE
TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON JA
SUBJECT: ABE FACES YET ANOTHER CABINET SCANDAL AND
RESIGNATION
Classified By: Charge d'Affairs Joe Donovan for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
.
1. (C) For the second time in two weeks, Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe has had to accept the resignation of a cabinet
official forced to step down because of a scandal.
Administrative Reform Minister Genichiro Sata resigned on
December 26 in response to allegations that his political
organization submitted false accounting records. Sata will
continue to serve as a member of the House of
Representatives. Abe confronted an additional scandal
several days earlier when Tax Commission chief Masaaki Honma
was forced to step down on December 21 over allegations he
was living with a mistress in posh government housing. Japan
Center for Economic Research Senior Advisor Yutaka Kosai will
replace Honma.
2. (C) In a bid to mitigate opposition and ruling coalition
criticism, Abe moved quickly on December 28 to appoint
Yoshimi Watanabe to replace Sata. Watanabe, like many
officials in the Abe cabinet, comes from a political family.
The eldest son of former Foreign Minister Michio Watanabe,
Yoshimi is known for not mincing words. He is considered
somewhat of a lone wolf because he does not belong to any LDP
faction. First elected to the House of Representatives in
1996, he is in his fourth term from the Tochigi Number 3
constituency. In 2001 he supported Jun'ichiro Koizumi's bid
to become president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party,
but in 2003 made his own unsuccessful bid for the post. He
has a reputation for running a well-managed office and he
appears to be untarnished by any known scandals.
3. (C) Additional scandals may come to light in the coming
weeks, according to multiple Embassy media interlocutors.
Several political reporters predict that Chief Cabinet
Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki could be hit by a series of
SIPDIS
scandals early in the new year. Two weekly magazines
(Bunshun and Shincho) are reportedly preparing to report on a
sexual harassment lawsuit filed by female campaign workers in
Shiozaki's home district of Ehime. These reports could be
followed by stories on a widely talked about affair Shiozaki
is having with the NHK's Kantei correspondent. The reporters
predicted the revelations will lead to Shiozaki's
resignation. If accurate, it could lead to additional
problems for the Abe Administration.
DONOVAN
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPT PASS FAS
E.O. 12958: DECL: END OF US-JAPAN ALLIANCE
TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON JA
SUBJECT: ABE FACES YET ANOTHER CABINET SCANDAL AND
RESIGNATION
Classified By: Charge d'Affairs Joe Donovan for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
.
1. (C) For the second time in two weeks, Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe has had to accept the resignation of a cabinet
official forced to step down because of a scandal.
Administrative Reform Minister Genichiro Sata resigned on
December 26 in response to allegations that his political
organization submitted false accounting records. Sata will
continue to serve as a member of the House of
Representatives. Abe confronted an additional scandal
several days earlier when Tax Commission chief Masaaki Honma
was forced to step down on December 21 over allegations he
was living with a mistress in posh government housing. Japan
Center for Economic Research Senior Advisor Yutaka Kosai will
replace Honma.
2. (C) In a bid to mitigate opposition and ruling coalition
criticism, Abe moved quickly on December 28 to appoint
Yoshimi Watanabe to replace Sata. Watanabe, like many
officials in the Abe cabinet, comes from a political family.
The eldest son of former Foreign Minister Michio Watanabe,
Yoshimi is known for not mincing words. He is considered
somewhat of a lone wolf because he does not belong to any LDP
faction. First elected to the House of Representatives in
1996, he is in his fourth term from the Tochigi Number 3
constituency. In 2001 he supported Jun'ichiro Koizumi's bid
to become president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party,
but in 2003 made his own unsuccessful bid for the post. He
has a reputation for running a well-managed office and he
appears to be untarnished by any known scandals.
3. (C) Additional scandals may come to light in the coming
weeks, according to multiple Embassy media interlocutors.
Several political reporters predict that Chief Cabinet
Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki could be hit by a series of
SIPDIS
scandals early in the new year. Two weekly magazines
(Bunshun and Shincho) are reportedly preparing to report on a
sexual harassment lawsuit filed by female campaign workers in
Shiozaki's home district of Ehime. These reports could be
followed by stories on a widely talked about affair Shiozaki
is having with the NHK's Kantei correspondent. The reporters
predicted the revelations will lead to Shiozaki's
resignation. If accurate, it could lead to additional
problems for the Abe Administration.
DONOVAN