Japan’s Parliament Hears Takeshita Deny Charges

Former Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita today denied charges that he had intervened to help a scandal-ridden express delivery company in exchange for the company’s help in using gangsters to quiet a small group of his right-wing critics.

His two hours of testimony before Japan’s Parliament was part of a continuing effort to unravel some of the mysteries surrounding influence-buying by the delivery company Tokyo Sagawa Kyubin. The effort has delayed passage of a critical economic package designed to end Japan’s current slump.

The last time a former prime minister was subjected to the humiliating experience of being called to testify under oath was when former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone testified in the Recruit Co. influence-buying scandal. That scandal led to Takeshita’s resignation as prime minister in 1989.

Takeshita’s testimony did little to shed light on his role in the scandal and is unlikely to contain widespread calls for his resignation. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party sent out an unusual notice to its party members Wednesday asking them to refrain from criticizing Takeshita and calling for his resignation from Parliament.

“The people of this country can decide whether or not he was telling the truth,” Tarao Takazawa, a member of the Socialist Party and one of Takeshita’s interrogators, said of the parliamentary session. “I think the calls for his resignation are only going to increase.”

Ruling party powerbroker Shin Kanemaru was forced to resign his seat in Parliament last month after admitting he received $4 million in illegal contributions from the delivery company. Kanemaru, who recently underwent eye surgery, was scheduled to be questioned at his hospital bedside Friday regarding his role.

At issue in Takeshita’s case are Tokyo Sagawa Kyubin President Hiroyasu Watanabe’s claims that he persuaded prominent gang leader Susumu Ishii to help stop harassment of Takeshita by the right-wing group Kominto. The group had gathered sound trucks outside Takeshita’s home that were blasting out cynical slogans “praising” him for his corrupt politics.

Kominto has told prosecutors that on at least two occasions the group was offered more than $20 million by ruling party politicians to end their “crush Takeshita with praise” campaign.

Takeshita testified he was unaware that Watanabe was acting on his behalf.

It is unclear why such high-level intervention was considered necessary to stop the activities of a small right-wing group. Few believe it could have influenced the outcome of Takeshita’s bid to become prime minister.