New Minister Tainted by Stock Scandal : Revelation Shakes ‘Mr. Clean’ Image of Japan Cabinet Appointee

Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita’s appointee as justice minister, purportedly selected this week because he was untainted by a burgeoning stock scandal, acknowledged Wednesday night that he has received substantial political contributions from the company at the center of the scandal.

Takashi Hasegawa told reporters Tuesday, when he was appointed to the sensitive Cabinet job, that he was “totally free” of any connection to the Recruit Co. stock scandal. However, he admitted Wednesday that one of his political support groups has received nearly $50,000 in contributions over the past 12 years from Recruit.

Hasegawa’s admission is a potentially serious blow to Takeshita, who appointed a new Cabinet this week and reportedly chose Hasegawa, with his “Mr. Clean” image, in an effort to put the scandal behind him. Hasegawa is head of a 200-member parliament caucus set up since the Recruit scandal to “enact principles of political ethics” for the legislature.

The Recruit case, in which dozens of well-connected politicians, business executives and journalists were allowed to buy shares of a Recruit real estate subsidiary before it was publicly available and then were able to make quick, and often quite large, profits, has turned into the largest political scandal in Japan since the Lockheed bribery case of the mid-1970s.

Aides to virtually all top political leaders, including Takeshita’s aides, have acknowledged getting the stock. So far, however, only Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa, who also heads a major faction of the ruling party, has been forced to resign. He repeatedly had changed his explanation of how stock came to be listed in his name.

Other casualties include the chairman of Nippon Telegraph & Telephone, the head of Japan’s leading business newspaper and a variety of other business leaders, including Hiromasa Ezoe, head of Recruit Co. and a central figure in the scandal.

It is widely expected that others may be implicated as prosecutors continue investigating the case. As justice minister, Hasegawa’s portfolio would include overseeing the prosecutors’ work.

Hasegawa, 76, acknowledged that Ezoe had joined one of Hasegawa’s political support groups in 1976, around the time when Hasegawa was labor minister. Ezoe has paid about $330 in monthly “dues”--or contributions--since then, which means about $47,500 in total. Recruit Co.’s main business is providing temporary labor to businesses, and thus is regulated by the Labor Ministry.

The most recent donation from Ezoe occurred in October this year, after the Recruit stock revelations had already begun to emerge.