11/29/2007THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
Already in turmoil, the Diet is sinking deeper into a quagmire with an unusual decision to summon an incumbent Cabinet minister as a sworn witness, the first in 31 years.
That followed mudslinging matches between the ruling and opposition parties over what they are presenting as "evidence" in connection with the bribery scandal involving former Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya and defense contractor Yamada Corp.
While the Diet has many issues to resolve, it is heading off into uncharted waters.
At issue is whether Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga attended a wining and dining session hosted by former Yamada executive Motonobu Miyazaki, who is under arrest.
Moriya said earlier that Nukaga joined them at the session on Dec. 4, 2006.
Nukaga flatly denied the allegation, saying he had dinner with his family that night.
In his Cabinet portfolio, Nukaga holds the key in compiling the fiscal 2008 budget. As such, it may be linked to the fate of the Liberal Democratic Party administration of Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda.
As if to symbolize this unusual Diet session, where the opposition camp controls the upper chamber, the vote on Tuesday to summon Nukaga on Dec. 3 was marked with more anomalies.
Ruling coalition members boycotted the Upper House Financial Affairs Committee session, making the decision a majority vote in effect.
This went against the long-established practice of seeking a unanimous vote on sworn testimony.
It is also unusual for Nukaga, a Lower House lawmaker, to be questioned in the Upper House, and by a panel that he himself oversees.
The committee was also to summon Moriya, but he was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of accepting bribes from Miyazaki.
Ruling coalition officials are critical of the aggressive tactics taken by opposition Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan).
"To make a decision by a majority vote to summon a key person in budget compilation is tantamount to discarding Upper House authority," said LDP Secretary-General Bunmei Ibuki.
But Minshuto will not budge.
"Should it turn out that Nukaga was caught up in this, it would not only be a crisis for one minister but it would put the entire Fukuda Cabinet into a bind," Minshuto leader Ichiro Ozawa said.
Insisting it has evidence to show that Nukaga attended the Dec. 4 meeting, the party even described how participants were seated and how Nukaga arrived late and left early.
The participants included Miyazaki, Moriya and James Auer, then in charge of Japan affairs at the U.S. Defense Department. Auer denies Nukaga joined them.
Minshuto revealed Tuesday that its source for the information was Moriya himself.
"Which is telling a lie, Moriya or Nukaga? It is the Diet's responsibility to set the stage for the public to learn the truth," said Kenji Yamaoka, Minshuto's chief for Diet affairs.
The LDP had fought back earlier Tuesday, presenting photos and other "evidence" to show that Nukaga, a former defense chief, was elsewhere that night.
At a news conference, Tadamori Oshima, the LDP chief of Diet affairs, displayed photos of Nukaga at a Tokyo hotel, where he had dinner with his family and friends.
The photos were accompanied by data on when they were taken. One was snapped at 7:51 p.m. on Dec. 4, 2006.
Oshima said Nukaga then attended a study meeting, for which audio recordings are available. "There was no time for him (to attend the session)," he declared.
Minshuto refuted the LDP's "evidence" later in the day, saying such data could be fabricated to construct an "alibi."
It also said Nukaga could have hopped between the family dinner and the session because the two venues were 10 minutes away at most by car.
Minshuto has other reasons to dig in its heels. The LDP is saying Minshuto's rants may turn just like the fake e-mail "as evidence" fiasco of 2006 that led to the resignation of party leader Seiji Maehara. (IHT/Asahi: November 29,2007)
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