A politically-connected and controversial far right-wing educator testified under oath that Japanese government intervention helped him purchase land for a school for far below its market value.

Yasunori Kagoike was called in to testify before lawmakers about his Moritomo Gakuen group's purchase of a plot of land in Osaka.  According to public records, the group paid the government for one-seventh the price of the plot's assessed value.  Around AU$9.2 Million was shaved off the price for supposed 'waste removal'.  The discount that raised eyebrows in a country where build-able land is at a premium.

Lawmakers specifically wanted to know if Mr. Kagoike used his connections with Japan's right-leaning politicians - including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe - to obtain the discount.  He responded that once he began to ask his connections for help, the process started moving quicker.

Kagoike also testified that Japan's First Lady Akie Abe gave him an envelope containing almost AU$12,000 and said it was from Shinzo Abe.  The government denies the claims.  Mrs. Abe has said she does not remember passing the envelope.

Moritomo Gakuen has been in Japan's news for several weeks not just because of the land deal, but for accusations of what's going on within the walls of the national chain of private kindergartens.  Parents of former pupils have asked the Osaka prefectural government to investigate their claims of borderline abuse of tiny students, and the use of racist and ethnic hate speech towards Chinese and Korean people among other ethnic groups.  The controversy prompted the company to postpone the opening of a companion elementary school in Osaka.

Students at Moritomo schools are required to bow before portraits of the imperial family (which long ago rejected such nonsense) and are taken on field trips to military bases.  They sing the national anthem and recite the 1890 imperial rescript on education (.pdf link) which demands loyalty to the emperor and sacrifice for one's country.  After Imperial Japan lost World War II, US occupation authorities banned the rescript as a contributor to Japans wartime fanaticism.

Students are taught that Japan "liberated" Asian nations from "Western colonialism" during World War II and that the US-authored post-war pacifist constitution emasculated the country's "true, original characteristics".

That Moritomo was doing this seemed to come as an unpleasant surprise to parents.  "We can't allow it to get away with anything just because it's a private school," said one parents' representative as a complaint was lodged with Osaka's private school division. 

Both Kagoike and Prime Minister Abe are members of Nippon Kaigi, an ultra-nationalist group that wants to rewrite the constitution.  Kagoike says he will resign as principal of the kindergarten.  Abe says he'll step down as Prime Minister only if any evidence emerges linking him to the land deal.