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Japan PM aide says farm minister did not pressure him over road budget cuts
Версия 2: The prime minister's aide said to have received the inquiry, Sasaki Hajime, has now spoken publicly, saying the farm minister neither lobbied nor pressured him, and giving his own account of the February contact, which differs in part from Nikkei's report of what he checked.
Коротко
Sasaki Hajime, a prime minister's aide and former senior vice minister at the land ministry, said on 7 October that agriculture minister Yan Kazuoki neither lobbied nor pressured him over road budget allocations for two Tochigi municipalities. A day earlier the land ministry said its officials were asked in mid-February about fiscal 2026 allocations for Nasukarasuyama and Nakagawa. The ministry said those officials told its inquiry they did not think they had been pressured; Yan has admitted making a remark about cutting the budgets, apologised and retracted it, and denies seeking a cut.
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Sasaki Hajime, an aide to the prime minister and a former senior vice minister at the land ministry, said on 7 October that agriculture minister Yan Kazuoki neither lobbied nor pressured him over road budget cuts for two municipalities in Tochigi Prefecture. Sasaki told reporters at the Diet that he himself had never instructed the ministry on increases or decreases in the budget, according to Nikkei and Mainichi Shimbun. [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]
His remarks followed the land ministry's release of an internal investigation on 6 October. The ministry said at a press conference that its officials were asked in mid-February, before the allocations were decided, about the fiscal 2026 budget allocations for projects in Nasukarasuyama city and Nakagawa town, and that the officials told the inquiry they did not think they had been pressured. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]
The ministry said Kuroda Masayoshi, then its secretariat chief and now a senior ministry official, was summoned to Yan's own room in the Diet members' office building and asked about the amounts, and that Sasaki, then a senior vice minister, received a similar inquiry. Kuroda told the ministry's interviews that he had “no detailed notes” and did not remember clearly, adding that because he did not remember clearly he did not think he had been lobbied or pressured, Asahi Shimbun reported. [ 2 ]
The investigation followed reports by Weekly Bunshun's online edition and Daily Shincho that Yan said at a May gathering of the Liberal Democratic Party's Otawara branch that he had “substantially cut” the two municipalities' fiscal 2026 road budgets. According to Asahi Shimbun, Yan acknowledged the remark, apologised and retracted it, and acknowledged the inquiry to the ministry while denying he sought a budget cut. [ 2 ]
Accounts of Sasaki's own part differ. Nikkei reported that he said he checked fiscal 2024 and 2025 allocation records to grasp the past situation but did not inquire about the fiscal 2026 amounts, and that he said road budget allocations are not the kind of matter influenced by a lawmaker's wishes. Mainichi Shimbun reported that Sasaki said Yan asked him in mid-February to “look into it a bit”, that he checked with Kuroda and was told the allocations had not yet been decided, and that he explained the amounts to Yan after the fiscal 2026 budget passed. Sasaki said he thought the inquiry had no impact on the allocations. [ 7 , 9 ]
Nikkei reported that Yan and Sasaki are contemporaries in the House of Representatives from the former Abe faction. Coverage continued through 6 and 7 October, with several national outlets' headlines framing the named municipalities' doubts as deepening even after the ministry's finding. [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
Почему это важно
The case turns on how ministries handle political contact over spending decisions and whether a minister's public remark about municipalities that did not back him has consequences. The accounts so far come from the officials involved and the minister himself, so the question of political influence over road budget allocations remains open in the documents released.
Ключевые факты
- The land ministry released the results of its internal investigation on 6 October 2026. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- The ministry said its officials were asked in mid-February about fiscal 2026 budget allocations for projects in Nasukarasuyama and Nakagawa in Tochigi Prefecture, before the allocations were decided. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The officials questioned said they did not think they had been pressured over the budget, according to the ministry. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- Weekly Bunshun's online edition and Daily Shincho reported that Yan said at a May gathering of the LDP's Otawara branch that he had “substantially cut” the two municipalities' fiscal 2026 road budgets. [ 2 ]
- Yan acknowledged the remark, apologised and retracted it, and while acknowledging the inquiry to the ministry denies seeking a budget cut, Asahi Shimbun reported. [ 2 ]
- Sasaki Hajime said on 7 October that Yan neither lobbied nor pressured him, and that he never instructed the ministry on budget increases or decreases. [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]
- The ministry said Kuroda Masayoshi, then its secretariat chief, was called to Yan's room in the Diet members' office building and asked about the allocations, and that Sasaki, then a senior vice minister, received a similar inquiry. [ 2 ]
Подтверждено несколькими источниками
- The land ministry announced the results of its internal investigation at a press conference on 6 October, saying officials had been asked about the fiscal 2026 allocations but that they did not think they had been pressured. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]
- The ministry said the inquiry came in mid-February and concerned the fiscal 2026 budget allocations for Nasukarasuyama city and Nakagawa town in Tochigi Prefecture. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Sasaki Hajime, who received the inquiry while a senior vice minister at the land ministry and is now an aide to the prime minister, said on 7 October that Yan did not lobby or pressure him over a budget cut. [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]
- Sasaki said he had never instructed the ministry on budget increases or decreases, according to Nikkei and Mainichi Shimbun. [ 7 , 9 ]
Пока неясно
- Whether Yan sought to have the two municipalities' road budgets cut. Yan has denied seeking a cut and the officials involved told the ministry's inquiry they did not think they were pressured, so the documents offer only the accounts of those directly involved.
- What exactly was said in the mid-February inquiry. Kuroda told the ministry's interviews that he had no detailed notes and did not remember clearly, according to Asahi Shimbun.
- Whether Sasaki asked about the fiscal 2026 allocation amounts at the time. The ministry said he was asked about the fiscal 2026 allocations, and Mainichi Shimbun reported he checked with the secretariat chief and was told the amounts were not yet decided, while Nikkei reported Sasaki said he confirmed fiscal 2024 and 2025 records but did not inquire about the fiscal 2026 amounts.
Что пишут местные СМИ
Хронология, местное время
- Kuroda Masayoshi, then the ministry's secretariat chief, is called to Yan's room in the Diet members' office building and asked about the fiscal 2026 allocations for Nasukarasuyama and Nakagawa, and Sasaki Hajime, then a senior vice minister, receives a similar inquiry, according to the ministry; Sasaki says Yan asked him to look into the matter. [ 1 , 2 , 7 , 9 ]
- Yan is reported to have said at a gathering of the LDP's Otawara branch that he had “substantially cut” the two municipalities' fiscal 2026 road budgets. [ 2 ]
- The land ministry holds a press conference and announces the results of its internal investigation. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]
- Sasaki tells reporters at the Diet that Yan neither lobbied nor pressured him and that he never instructed the ministry on budget increases or decreases. [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]