Photo/Illutration Sanae Takaichi, the state minister in charge of economic security, responds to a question on March 13 at the Upper House Budget Committee. (Koichi Ueda)

Telecommunications ministry officials further drove a former boss into the corner during Diet questioning on March 13 about a meeting that Sanae Takaichi reportedly attended but has vehemently denied. 

During the Upper House Budget Committee session, Tetsuro Fukuyama, a member of the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, grilled Takaichi about a meeting on Feb. 13, 2015, when she was telecommunications minister. 

He asked about a document compiled by a telecommunications ministry official about an explanation given to her at the meeting regarding the interpretation about political fairness by broadcasters.

Fukuyama also asked a ministry official about the document and the official said, “there is a strong possibility” such a meeting was held.

Takaichi, who now serves as state minister of economic security, has repeatedly described all references to her in the ministry documents as fabricated.

In response to Fukuyama’s question, the ministry official said the individual who compiled the document in question “always strives for accuracy in daily work so if a document does exist, I believe an explanatory meeting about the Broadcast Law was likely held at that time.”

The document states that a meeting was held in the minister’s office between 3:45 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Feb. 13, 2015, with the names of the six individuals present.

The ministry official who responded to Fukuyama said some of those individuals could not remember the exact date of the meeting, but added, “I believe there is a high possibility an explanation was made to the minister on Feb. 13.”

For her part, Takaichi said it was impossible to confirm the dates, times and contents of all the meetings she attended as telecommunications minister.

“But I can with confidence once again deny the contents of what is written in that document,” she said.

She added that there was no basis in fact of discussions about political fairness at that time.

When first pressed about the ministry documents, Takaichi said she would resign as a lawmaker if it turned out the documents were not fabricated.

After the committee session, Fukuyama met with reporters and said, “Takaichi’s responses have begun to unravel” and added that she should follow through on her pledge to step down.

At the committee session, Takaichi did not use the word “fabrication" to criticize the document.

But the damage may already have been done.

A lawmaker with Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party), which until now had not asked Takaichi or the telecommunications ministry about the document, said, “Takaichi was wrong to say at first that it was a fabrication. She erred in how she first handled the matter.”

Nippon Ishin may now start going after Takaichi in the Diet.

Even a member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party said, “The atmosphere within the telecommunications ministry to protect Takaichi has disappeared. She will find herself in a much more difficult position now that she has placed her lawmaker standing on the line.”

(This article was compiled from reports by Ryutaro Abe, Yasuro Suzuki and Yoshikatsu Nakajima.)

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