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Disgraced ministry officials also dined with NTT president
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. said Wednesday that its president dined with communications ministry officials mired in an ethics scandal involving Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga s eldest son.
Japanese weekly magazine Shukan Bunshun reported online earlier in the day that NTT President Jun Sawada had treated Makiko Yamada, Yasuhiko Taniwaki and another official to expensive meals.
The ministry said it is looking into the matter.
From left: Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. President Jun Sawada, Yasuhiko Taniwaki, vice minister for policy coordination at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, and former Cabinet Public Relations Secretary Makiko Yamada. (Kyodo)
Suga s press official quits over communications ministry scandal
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga s press official resigned Monday, a week after drawing fire for being treated to a lavish dinner while at the communications ministry by a broadcasting firm that employs the premier s eldest son.
Makiko Yamada. (Kyodo)
Cabinet Public Relations Secretary Makiko Yamada was hospitalized Sunday afternoon due to ill health requiring about two weeks of treatment and reported later that day she can no longer fulfill her duties, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said at a press conference.
Her abrupt departure is yet another blow to Suga, who has been struggling with falling public support after a series of scandals involving government officials and criticism over his response to the coronavirus pandemic.
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Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide’s leadership is being tested after senior bureaucrats from the Ministry of Communications were found to have been treated to a series of lavish meals with executives of satellite broadcasting company Tohokushinsha – which employs Suga’s eldest son, Seigo.
At least 11 senior ministry officials in Suga’s inner circle have been accused of potentially violating the National Public Service Ethics Law, which prohibits receiving favors from stakeholders. An internal investigation revealed that between July 2016 and December 2020, 11 executives from the ministry wined and dined 39 times with Tohokoshinsha executives, who paid up to $700 per head for meals of Wagyu beef and seafood.