Prosecutors decide not to indict Abe over dinner party spending

Could it be that Abe knew about this, and that this is the real reason that Abe resigned? It was not really his health?

Abe is expected to apologize for unintentionally making false remarks in the Diet 

and by unintentionally...you mean unintelligently

I think the issue will end without a punitive action on Abe and I think it is OK. Abe did many good things to Japan. Nobody is impeccable and lily white. We have a saying "Tatakeba hokori no denai hito wa inai." (Beat it and some dust fly out).

In the not so distant past.

Civil Servant: Sori, the booking has been made at the 5 Star Zeitaku Hotel for the annual Sakura party.

Abe: I’m not paying for this, am I?

Civil Servant: No Sir. The second jet plane maintenance account was in the black so....

Abe:That’s alright then!

Enough of this extravagant onanism. Nothing's going to happen. Nothing's going to change.

Tanaka Kakue got caught with his whole being inside the cookie jar, and nothing changed.

Pay your taxes. Keep consuming. Vote LDP.

vanityofvanitiesToday  07:19 am JST

I think the issue will end without a punitive action on Abe and I think it is OK.

Ordinary people who break the law in the same way are punished. Why should senior politicians be treated any differently?

Abe did many good things to Japan. 

Such as? I can't think of any.

All he needs is three answers that he can repeat endlessly.

I don't recall.

My secretary handled all of that business.

I will think seriously about that question and get back to you.

REPEAT.

gary

“Due to ongoing investigations, I will refrain from answering and commenting on these questions.”

A theater of the absurd with no consequences. Like a reverse Kafka's The Trial.

In Abe's case, the crimes and corruption are apparent yet he "mysteriously" escapes with no punishment.

Instead, they are planning to file a summary indictment against his state-paid secretary soon for allegedly not keeping the financial records.

So, as always, the underlings have to take the heat for the elite. Pathetic. Not that I think paying for a meal is a real crime. This is going nowhere.

“Due to ongoing investigations, I will refrain from answering and commenting on these questions.”

Exactly. Also, he'll just sit in the chamber with his eyes closed as he always used to do while PM - unable to, or unwilling to, look people in the eyes.

The prosecutors are unlikely to indict the former prime minister based on claims that he was not aware his office covered a shortfall in costs for the events held at luxury Tokyo hotels, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.

Instead, they are planning to file a summary indictment against his state-paid secretary soon for allegedly not keeping the financial records.

Translation. The Teflon Don will scurry away unscathed as always. But some fall guy will be thrown under the bus.

Prosecutors need to send an example to future Prime Ministers and arrest him and hold him until he admits his wrong doing even if it takes more than 108 days.

So much in Japan is ceremony. We are about to see Abe perform this ceremony:* 

"I apologise if I appear to have unwittingly and without blame gotten myself involved in a scandal that was caused by a part time worker who has since left and who, contrary to orders shredded all the evidence. It is most regrettable."

*If his tummy holds out. If the going gets rough, he'll have an attack of the mysterious tummywobbles.

I think foreigners do not understand very well about the characteristics of Japanese traditional society and human relations among them. You are judging Japan with your scales.

Vantityofvanities : we too have a saying ‘everyone has skeletons in their closet’ not all turn out to be ya dead grandma if you catch my drift. Also the fact that you said Abe did things ‘to’ Japan and not ‘for’ is vastly more apt than you may acknowledge.

Yet another, ‘you are all foreigners here, how could you possibly understand...’ comment. Hypocrisy at its finest

Amazing coincidence that you mention Scales when your views are clearly one-sided.

I think foreigners do not understand very well about the characteristics of Japanese traditional society and human relations among them. You are judging Japan with your scales.

The stupid foreigners and the mysterious inscrutable Japanese defense comes to the rescue (again)-it is so last century.....

.....and then again, he may not!

Abe is like a daruma doll. Japan's roly poly. Kick him over and he flips right up again.

vanityofvanitiesToday  08:56 am JST

I think foreigners do not understand very well about the characteristics of Japanese traditional society and human relations among them. You are judging Japan with your scales.

Abe got his office staff to pay the hotel costs of his supporters, which is against Japanese law as it basically constitutes bribery, and lied about it in the Diet. Either that or he's criminally negligent as his staff were breaking the law and he didn't have a clue what was going on.

Sorry, is there a special Japanese perspective on all of this that somehow makes it all okay?

There's been updates in the few hours that this article's been published:

Prosecutors decide not to indict ex-PM Abe over party spending

https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Prosecutors-decide-not-to-indict-ex-PM-Abe-over-party-spending

From https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Japan-s-ex-PM-Abe-avoids-indictment-over-cherry-blossom-scandal

"People close to Abe have said the secretary offered false explanations when questioned by the former prime minister about the matter, so he only recently learned of the scheme to cover part of the costs."

So he made all those comments in the Diet claiming to know nothing at all about any of it, and presumably didn't think to ask the secretary or anyone else for the facts before he did so. That would make him a moron.

Abe flew to Europe after ever tax increase without batting an eye so I'd be amazed if anything stuck to him

"They will instead issue a summary indictment of one of Abe's state-paid secretaries, Hiroyuki Haikawa, 61, and seek a fine for his alleged failure to keep records of income and expenditures related to the dinner functions as required by law."

And who could have possibly seen that coming?

Expected

The prosecutors decide? Guilty not guilty no need for court or evidence gathering.

He is Honest Abe,

and an underling at 61 who is going to miss him?

Hang on if he is such a strong great leader how is it he had no idea what his staff were doing? Incompetent in the office incompetent as a national leader.

No???!!! They are not going to indict him????!!!! I am amazed and completely surprised and shocked beyond belief. And I really really thought they were going to throw him in jail and keep him waiting for a trial for a few years, while they make their case. And interrogate him 18 hours a day, every day in a freezing cell with no contact with lawyers or family.

@Vanity

I think foreigners do not understand very well about the characteristics of Japanese traditional society and human relations among them. You are judging Japan with your scales.

All of my Japanese friends, in laws, etc. are disgusted by this...No; I believe foreigners fully understand when something unethical is being done as to the majority of Japanese citizens. I believe in this case you would be in the minority. Perhaps you are within the LDP?

Prosecutors decide not to indict Abe over dinner party spending

Shock factor? ZERO.

They will instead issue a summary indictment of one of Abe's state-paid secretaries, Hiroyuki Haikawa, 61, and seek a fine for his alleged failure

Scapegoat in place? CHECK.

Abe has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing since the scandal emerged in November last year. When questioned on a voluntary basis on Monday, the former prime minister explained he was not aware 

Convenient negligence in the workplace? MANDATORY.

The development is set to deal a blow to his successor Yoshihide Suga

He's currently building up a nice long resume of blows all by himself. NON FACTOR.

Abe, who became Japan's longest-serving prime minister before stepping down in September due to health reasons

*"health reasons"* FIXED.

If summoned, Abe is expected to apologize

And there it is............any real consequence for his actions? NONE.

Wash, rinse, repeat, Japan.

Nothing will ever change. EVER.

Of course not! They are in cahoots!

LOL. I thought so!!

During Abe's tenure, Japanese politics was stable and economy recovering from deflation and Japanese stock prices sored. Abe contributed a lot in foreign relations as a important member of the west. Overall, he did a good job.

During Abe's tenure, Japanese politics was stable and economy recovering from deflation and Japanese stock prices sored. Abe contributed a lot in foreign relations as a important member of the west. Overall, he did a good job.

Delusional but hey in my country people believed someone walked on water a long time ago. I for one applaud your beliefs.

Abe contributed a lot in foreign relations

Yes indeed. Abe was a true gomasuri master.

We've all watched reruns of this movie ad nauseam and we understand that the LDP leopard can never change its spots so, unsurprisingly, Abe-sama has been allowed to return to his gold-plated life of retirement, free to keep it on a long leash while continuing to pull the strings of power. Question is: when will the zookeeper come to cage the beast? The choice can only be real democracy or, that bane of Japanese history: the army.

Don't forget this (Abe's tenure along with all the things he got up to) was only possible because the US released from Sugamo prison and re-instated to power Abe's grandfather Kishi Nobusuke, who then used CIA funds along with his yakuza pal Kodama Yoshio to help put together the LDP in the first place.

https://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/09/world/cia-spent-millions-to-support-japanese-right-in-50-s-and-60-s.html

[ The American occupation forces freed accused war criminals like Nobusuke Kishi, later Japan's Prime Minister. Some of the rehabilitated politicians had close contacts with organized crime groups, known as yakuza. So did Yoshio Kodama, a political fixer and later a major C.I.A. contact in Japan who worked behind the scenes to finance the conservatives. ]

vanityofvanitiesToday  01:36 pm JST

During Abe's tenure, Japanese politics was stable and economy recovering from deflation and Japanese stock prices sored. Abe contributed a lot in foreign relations as a important member of the west. Overall, he did a good job.

Can you be specific about the things that he actually did and what the results were? Vague generalisations don't hold much water.

Abe achieved nothing.

His regime had only fabricated atmosphere as if government effort something, Japanese society was divided politically by his politics.

Abe had continued to exploit position as prime minister to maintain his government, and had repeated lies over hundreds times at the Diet to justify himself.

His lies cornered one bureaucrat who believed that "my employers are citizen" to suicide.

as nr2 you it did alright so far but as nr1 did not perform so just protect the cooporates as usual.

'Secretary had done everything on his own judgment'

It is typical "evasion of the responsibility" at Japanese politics.

Hope his granddaddy is pleased.

Shinzo led his beloved country to become nothing more than a Banana Republic.

His grandson has re- introduced a 'caste system' where the 'elites' are free to do whatever they want at no risk of punishment all at the expense of the decent hardworking public.

Absolutely mind-blowing that this just goes on and on in Japan.

I used to feel sorry for the salt of the earth Japanese folk who have to endure these dinosaurs but then I realised these are the same people who keep re-electing them.

It is like a bizarre Stockholm syndrome but on a much huger scale.

Just the feeling that remain on me it's the shame of many of his scandals and nothing more to say he never admits his fault +Japanese law accepts what he is saying there aren't evidences or proof on him, just to kindergarten children to believe he didn't know this scandal, only disappointment remains.

Prosecutors decide not to indict Abe over dinner party spending

How predictable. Japanese law at it's best.

well, no surprise BUT it's interesting how it goes for various cases. Can't help it.

"gone CEO" responsible when Saikawa went just as a "witness"

Now Abe "knows nothing" and other person working under him is going to take the blame.

How convenient!