Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks at the Upper House plenary session on Nov. 20. (Takeshi Iwashita)

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe changed his story Nov. 20 and admitted to playing a role in recommending invitees to a cherry blossom viewing party that has become the source of a widening political scandal.

The annual event, which is funded by taxpayers’ money, was canceled for next year over criticism that the parties are being used to wine and dine supporters of influential politicians.

When the topic was first raised on Nov. 8 at the Upper House Budget Committee, Abe said he was not involved in deciding who should be invited to the gathering held at Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden in central Tokyo.

But at the Upper House plenary session on Nov. 20, Abe acknowledged: “My office received a request from the Cabinet Secretariat for recommendations, and the office sought out possible participants. I also gave my opinion when consulted by office staff.”

Abe also admitted that the party held the night before the cherry blossom viewing was organized by his support group in Yamaguchi Prefecture.

The pre-sakura party has also come under scrutiny because it was held at the luxurious Hotel New Otani in Tokyo, but participants paid only 5,000 yen ($46) for food and drinks as well as the opportunity to have their photos taken with Abe and his wife, Akie.

At the Lower House Cabinet Committee session on Nov. 20, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga provided a breakdown of how recommendations for invitations were doled out.

He explained that of the 15,000 or so invitees, about 6,000 were individuals recommended by various government ministries and agencies for their achievements and endeavors.

The cherry viewing gathering started in 1952 with the initial objective of honoring such individuals. Ambassadors, Diet members and recipients of government decorations and medals were also invited.

But according to Suga, the remaining 9,000 or so invitees were recommended by various politicians.

Abe recommended about 1,000 invitees, while another 1,000 or so were recommended by Suga, Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso and the deputy chief Cabinet secretaries.

Around 6,000 invitees were recommended by people with ties to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Suga said.

Shoji Onishi, a councilor in the Cabinet Secretariat, said Akie Abe also made recommendations when her husband’s office was seeking participants.

The various revelations, including the LDP’s increase of the invitation quota for party lawmakers seeking re-election, has fueled opposition criticism that the cherry blossom viewing events are being held for objectives that do not match the original intent.

“It has become clear that an event using public funds was used for election campaigning,” Jun Azumi, chairman of the Diet Affairs Committee of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, told reporters on Nov. 20. “We will thoroughly look into this issue of whether such use of taxes is acceptable.”

He described the cherry blossom viewing event as “abnormal” since it resembled nothing less than an LDP convention.

Regarding the first lady’s involvement in the matter, Azumi said it was highly possible that she invited her friends, which would constitute a mixing of public and private matters.

At a news conference, Suga was asked whether it was appropriate to have Akie, a private individual, involved in the process of deciding who should be invited to a publicly funded event.

He indicated there was no problem because the Cabinet Secretariat and Cabinet Office made all the final decisions about who would be invited.

The government made clear that Akie did not serve in any public capacity in March 2017, when debate raged over whether she was a private or public figure. At that time, questions of cronyism arose because she was named honorary principal of a planned private elementary school by Moritomo Gakuen, a school operator run by one of her acquaintances.

That school was never opened after it became embroiled in a scandal over the sale of state-owned land that was to serve as the site of the facility.