Land Deal For Right-Wing Elementary School Plagues Japanese Prime Minister
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has denied involvement in a discounted sale of state-owned land for a new primary school. He says he'll resign if proof of his involvement is found.
by Anthony Kuhn
May 10, 2017
4 minutes
On a back street in Osaka, the sound of schoolchildren floats out of Tsukamoto Kindergarten. A cuckoo clock and a stand of bamboo sit in front of the school building's orange facade — and Astro Boy, a cartoon figure, looks down from a window.
From its exterior, there's no visible sign that the school is at the center of a scandal on which the leader of Japan has staked his political future.
The school's owner is accused of using his relationship with Japan's first family to secure a plot of land for a new, right-wing primary school at a massive discount.
Despite the scandal,
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