Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s political integrity is still at stake over his use of official Cabinet events for self-serving purposes and his repeated obfuscations to related questions at the Diet over the course of nearly a year.

Even though he was never indicted, Abe bears heavy political responsibility for the scandal. He has displayed a gross lack of sincerity by failing to make any serious attempt to clarify the allegations even to this day.

He should not be allowed to get off the hook without answering outstanding questions at the Diet.

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office again on Dec. 28 decided not to indict Abe in connection with annual tax-funded cherry blossom-viewing parties he hosted.

Abe was accused of violating the Public Offices Election Law and the Political Funds Control Law because his office covered some of the expenses for a lavish dinner party held at a Tokyo hotel by his political support group the night before a cherry blossom-viewing party.

The latest decision by prosecutors followed a second investigation into the accusations triggered by a citizens prosecution inquest panel that took issue with the earlier decision to drop the case against Abe, which it labeled inappropriate.

The December decision effectively closed the curtain on any criminal investigation into the former prime minister on the issue.

The inquest panel harshly criticized prosecutors for not thoroughly investigating the matter. It said prosecutors were obliged to “obtain objective evidence, such as emails” in addition to statements from those involved.

In explaining their latest decision not to indict Abe, prosecutors said they did not have sufficient evidence for an indictment. But they did not offer any specific information about the second investigation.

This has raised questions about the extent and rigor of the probe.

Abe held a news conference after the initial decision by prosecutors not to indict him, but did nothing other than release a brief statement after the second decision.

“I understand that (prosecutors) decided not to indict (me) after a rigorous investigation,” the statement said.

He showed that he had no intention whatsoever in trying to convince the public his name had been cleared by explaining all the pertinent details.

The last time Abe answered questions about the scandal in public was during sessions of the Committees on Rules and Administration of both houses of the Diet held at the end of 2020.

While he retracted his past remarks that his office had not covered any expenses for the hotel banquet, Abe asserted he was not informed of the payment as one of his secretaries had acted on his own.

But this explanation raised more questions than it answered.

Why did Abe keep taking his secretary’s words at face value without questioning them when he was being rigorously questioned at the Diet, for instance?

What were the reasons behind his camp’s decision not to report the payment in political funding reports submitted to the authority?

Abe has also refused to submit any related documents, such as a bill of expenses or a receipt issued by the hotel.

Abe in the interim has ramped up his political activities without taking any responsibility for the scandal.

He has become the head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s largest faction and supreme adviser for party organizations and groups of lawmakers.

Abe seriously eroded the credibility of the legislature’s role as the watchdog of the administrative branch of the government by giving false answers to related questions on 118 occasions.

Given the seriousness of the consequences of his behavior, Abe first needs to fulfill his responsibility to clear up the allegations by giving testimony at the Diet as a sworn witness.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has tried to avoid addressing issues related to the scandal by saying his Cabinet will not hold cherry blossom-viewing parties.

If he intends to be true to his promise to regain public trust in politics, however, he should demand that Abe offer convincing explanations about the matter.

He should not help Abe avoid taking responsibility for the scandal because of a self-centered desire to maintain a good relationship with the influential politician.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Jan. 6