Photo/Illutration The invitation to a cherry blossom viewing party in 2015 hosted by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that was used by Japan Life to lure potential investors (Provided by Mikishi Daimon)

The human brain is apparently "brand-sensitive," so to speak, and brain researcher Yuji Ikegaya conducted an experiment based on that premise.

In a book, he wrote how he got his test subjects to take a wine taste test. The catch was that he lied to them about the price of each wine they sampled.

When he examined the subjects' part of the brain that generates pleasure, he found considerably heightened brain activity when the price of the wine being tasted was high.

Put simply, the subjects equated "expensive" with "high quality," and the brain reacted accordingly. This, in turn, seems to suggest that the human brain is liable to be influenced by preconceptions.

When it comes to bringing up a "brand name" with which to influence someone, "Prime Minister Shinzo Abe" must pack quite a punch.

Japan Life Co., an enterprise ordered to suspend its business operations for having ripped off customers through its fraudulent rental business, was found have trumpeted "receiving an invitation from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to his annual cherry blossoming viewing event."

A lawyer representing the victims pointed out, "The company used the invitation card as a tool for winning the public's trust, and a good number of people signed on (with the company) as a result."

A document pertaining to this invitation card bears an ID number which, according to opposition legislators pursuing this case, suggests it was Abe who recommended the owner of Japan Life as his guest to the cherry viewing event.

Some people are objecting to the opposition's harping on this issue in the Diet and letting other policy debates slide, and I do see their point. It actually worries me, too, that highly problematic Japan-U.S. trade talks are not being discussed with sufficient earnestness.

Still, I do not believe in dismissing this issue as inconsequential, because it truly embodies just about everything that is wrong with the Abe administration.

The prime minister is under grave suspicion of using official, tax-funded events for his personal gain, and turning a blind eye to the destruction of official documents. As for the Japan Life case, Abe has indirectly allowed this shady outfit to ride on his coattails.

In short, the cherry viewing issue gives us a perfect bird's eye view, so to speak, of all the problems that taint the Abe administration.

The Japan-U.S. trade talks have clearly become U.S. President Donald Trump's personal "campaign tool" for 2020, and the Japanese government is helping him.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Nov. 30

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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.