This nation’s political landscape has remained bleak this year, making visible three main problems with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s prolonged stay in power, which is the longest of any prime minister in Japanese history.

First, the Abe administration has defaulted on its responsibilities to the public. Secondly, it has shown outrageous disrespect for the Diet. Thirdly, the ethical and professional standards of bureaucracy have declined.

All these problems are eroding the foundation of democracy in this nation. A series of events in the political sphere has underscored the increasing seriousness of the situation.

TURNING BACK ON INCONVENIENT FACTS

Former trade minister Isshu Sugawara resigned in October amid allegations that his secretary gave a “koden” money offering during the wake for a voter in his district who died recently. In announcing his resignation, Sugawara promised to “ascertain facts” and fulfill his “responsibility to explain” to the public.

The next week, former Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai stepped down over a possible violation of the Public Offices Election Law by the campaign for his wife, Anri, who was elected to the Upper House for the first time from the Hiroshima district in July. At his departure, Kawai said something similar to Sugawara’s pledge.

But the two politicians have since remained totally silent about the scandals.

All Abe has said about their resignations is that he is responsible for their appointments.

But all these facts are hardly surprising given the administration’s history of going all out to avoid being held accountable by turning its back on inconvenient facts.

The way the administration responded to allegations against the two ministers who resigned within the space of a week is strongly reminiscent of its handling of political scandals concerning the dubious sale of state-owned land to Moritomo Gakuen, an Osaka-based school operator linked to Abe’s wife, and the government’s decision to allow the Kake Educational Institution, run by a close friend of Abe, to open a new veterinary medicine faculty.

The Abe administration has shown its tendency to avoid facing risky questions also in regard to policy issues.

In June, Finance Minister Taro Aso, who also doubles as minister in charge of financial services, refused to accept the report of a panel of the Financial Services Agency, which said pension benefits could fall 20 million yen ($184,000) short of the required post-retirement living expenses for a typical elderly couple. His action was aimed at quickly deflecting public criticism about the report, which the administration feared could affect the ruling coalition’s performance in the July Upper House election.

Neither Aso or any other member of the Cabinet bothered to address questions and concerns among the people raised by the report.

Abe himself has fared no better. Abe has made a highly important foreign policy decision on Japan’s negotiations with Russia for a bilateral peace treaty, switching from demanding the handover of all four islands off Hokkaido that were seized by Russia in the closing days of World War II to asking for the return of only two of the islands.

But he has declined to comment on this decision, saying he needs to refrain from talking about his strategy for the negotiations.

Abe has also refused to engage in serious policy debate over the controversial project to build a new U.S. military facility off Henoko, in the city of Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, to take over the functions of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, which is located in the middle of a densely populated residential area in Ginowan, also in the prefecture.

His only response to strong local opposition to the plan has been the refrain “Henoko is the only solution.” He has paid no serious attention to the results of the Feb. 24 prefectural referendum in which more than 70 percent of the total ballots cast expressed opposition to the construction of a new base off Henoko.

The Abe administration has never taken political responsibility seriously, either.

Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, who served as economics minister before assuming his current post, was given the foreign affairs portfolio even though he was accused of making potentially illegal donations of incense sticks to his constituents through his personal secretary. Akira Amari, who resigned as economics minister in 2016 amid allegations that he had accepted money in exchange for political favors, has been awarded the post of chief of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s tax commission.

The Abe administration may have been emboldened by the fact that Aso survived the shocking revelation that his ministry had systematically doctored documents on the sale of state-owned land to Moritomo Gakuen. The administration seems to be confident about its ability to get away with such allegations.

EPITOME OF DISRESPECT FOR DIET

That is, however, not to say that the Abe administration does not care about public opinion or its poll ratings. Solid approval ratings of the Abe Cabinet have been the primary source of Abe’s dominant political power.

After allegations emerged that he had used an annual cherry blossom-viewing event hosted by the prime minister for personal gain, Abe quickly decided to cancel next year's event because of critical public opinion. But that was about all the action he has taken with regard to the latest scandal. He has made no attempt to answer various related questions.

Abe is probably betting that public criticism will die down once he cancels the event and the allegations will be eventually forgotten.

His behavior indicates how he totally underestimates voters.

The administration has managed to prevent Cabinet approval ratings from falling into a steady decline despite a series of scandals that has rocked it simply by taking Band-Aid measures and pretending that nothing serious has happened.

It has made every effort to avoid a situation where it has to face harsh criticism or tough questions. This habit has only increased its tendency to give short shrift to the Diet.

In April, opposition parties demanded the convening of an Upper House Budget Committee session by submitting a request signed by more than a third of the committee members. Diet rules mandate the Budget Committee chair to convene a session when one-third or more of its members demand it. But the committee did not hold a session until the extraordinary Diet session in October.

The administration has also ignored most of the opposition requests for summoning key persons in scandals to testify at the Diet as unsworn witnesses.

The administration’s disrespect for the legislature culminated in the recent Cabinet decision to dispatch Self-Defense Forces to the Middle East without any substantive debate in the Diet about the planned deployment.

Abe’s prolonged rule has also caused serious erosion in the ethical and professional standards of bureaucrats. There have been many episodes suggesting that bureaucrats have become far more willing to obey the prime minister’s office under the strong political power that has been established in recent years.

In September, the Agency for Cultural Affairs decided to cancel a state subsidy for the Aichi Triennale 2019, an art festival in Aichi Prefecture, which was marred by an acrimonious dispute over politically sensitive exhibits including a sculpture symbolizing “comfort women,” who were forced to provide sex to Japanese troops before and during World War II. Bureaucrats at the agency stopped the subsidiary that was adopted according to a recommendation by experts.

That decision was made after Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga promised to conduct an investigation into the facts concerning the controversy.

PRIDE AS PUBLIC SERVANTS LOST

The Cabinet Office’s response to the allegations concerning the cherry blossom-viewing event has also been outrageous. Officials at the office have been bending over backward to toe the line set by Suga, who has refused to re-examine the lists of guests invited to the party.

In response to an opposition politician’s questions concerning an invitation to the event allegedly made on the basis of recommendations from Abe to the former chairman of Japan Life, a bankrupt company under investigation by police for alleged fraudulent business operations, the Cabinet Office official in charge of the matter said there was “no need” to check the facts.

Digital data about the guests has also been destroyed. While acknowledging that it is practically possible to check the computer’s history files to identify the date of the data deletion, the official refused to take the step.

These remarks and actions of elite bureaucrats show a lack of the recognition that official documents are intellectual resources owned by the public that underpin the health of democracy.

It is hard not to worry about the growing dimensions of the problems behind the destruction, cover-ups and falsifications of vital official documents that have been revealed.

Since the Cabinet Bureau of Personnel Affairs was established under the current administration to control senior bureaucratic appointments, it seems, the “sontaku” practice of acting to accommodate the assumed wishes and intentions of the powerful leader has become the norm in Japan’s officialdom.

The other side of the coin is tighter political control on the bureaucratic machine. Bureaucrats have lost their pride as public servants who work for the good of society and instead become servants of the powers that be.

How far will this administration go in ruining this nation’s democracy?

The answer is clear if you take a look at the records of the Abe administration’s behavior since Abe returned to power in late 2012.

If voters allow the current political situation to continue without taking any action, the destruction will continue without end.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Dec. 30