Photo/Illutration A lawyer representing Masako Akagi, the widow of Toshio Akagi, attends a news conference with the so-called Akagi file in Osaka on June 22. (The Asahi Shimbun)

The so-called Akagi file, disclosed on June 22, graphically depicts the unbridgeable gap between the all-powerful Finance Ministry headquarters in Tokyo and its subservient local bureau.

Toshio Akagi served at local finance bureaus and offices in Tottori and Maizuru, Kyoto Prefecture, among other places.

Proud of being a civil servant, Akagi used to say, “My employers are the people of Japan.”

But his sense of mission was shattered four years ago, when Akagi, who was working at the Kinki Local Finance Bureau, was ordered by the Finance Ministry headquarters to falsify official documents concerning the sale of state-owned land to Moritomo Gakuen.

The file, which was compiled by Akagi, contains emails headlined “M Case,” indicative of the atmosphere of hesitancy within the ministry to spell out “Moritomo Case.”

Emails sent from the Tokyo headquarters were coldly businesslike, saying: “Please send the revised version” and “Please handle this ASAP.”

My eyes were glued to a document titled “Memorandum,” written by Akagi himself.

In the only underlined passage, Akagi wrote: “I strongly remonstrated with the assistant director at the Finance Ministry’s office in charge of the case that from the perspective of an employee working on the front line, it is not right to alter an officially approved document and that it should not be done.”

I can visualize him raging and agonizing over an unreasonable order.

German statesman Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898), nicknamed the Iron Chancellor, noted to the effect that it is at least possible to conduct politics with good officials, but that it is never possible with bad officials.

The “M Case” came under scrutiny after the role played by Akie Abe, the wife of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, for Moritomo Gakuen came to light. But a “good official” at a local bureau took his own life after officials at the headquarters kept doing what they believed those in power wanted them to do.

My heart felt infinitely heavy and sad after reading the 518-page Akagi file.

It shows how the cruel headquarters drove a dedicated public servant on the front line into a corner and even fills me with horror.

--The Asahi Shimbun, June 23

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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.

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