A blessing in disguise for Mr. Kato

加藤紘一議員の試練

Mr. Kato's resignation in particular is a heavy blow to the LDP. He has held a number of key party and Cabinet posts, including secretary general and chief Cabinet secretary. He also headed a party faction. A reputed reformer, he was widely regarded as a future candidate for prime minister. Now, however, his reputation, already tainted by his botched attempt to shake up the party in November 2000, has been badly tarnished.

When Mr. Sato was arrested earlier this month, Mr. Kato acknowledged a "lack of supervision" on his part, saying that he bears "political and moral responsibility for having undermined the public's confidence in politics." But he hemmed and hawed over what specific action he would take. That equivocation has further damaged his image as a "can-do" reformer.

Leaving the party must be an agonizing decision. Nevertheless, coming after days of fence-sitting, Mr. Kato's decision was overdue. And coming close on the heels of Mr. Suzuki's exit, Mr. Kato's departure has created the impression that he acted largely under the pressure of circumstances. His wish might have been to wait out the storm rather than to take the plunge.

Earlier, Mr. Kato said he would leave everything to the party leadership — a remark that drew muted criticism from both inside and outside the party. The criticism was that he was shunning responsibility, concerned more about his own future than the tax scandal itself. Even if he was not directly involved, the way he behaved — trying to distance himself from the case — appears to have further diminished his public standing.

Mr. Sato, who was also Mr. Kato's campaign treasurer, is charged with hiding ¥280 million in income over three years — part of the payoffs he had allegedly received from public-works constructors in Yamagata Prefecture, Mr. Kato's constituency — and evading about ¥100 million in taxes. Additionally, he is accused of receiving cash in connection with a golf-course development project.

Mr. Sato had built extensive connections by taking advantage of his position as a top aide to an LDP heavyweight and used them to collect off-the-book funds from builders hungry for public contracts. His case probably represents just one small part of a "triangle of collusion" involving politicians, bureaucrats and businesses. Also in the background is the intensifying competition for the shrinking pie of public projects.

The crux of the Sato affair, aside from alleged tax evasion, is whether Mr. Kato was actually involved with his aide's illicit fundraising drive, which reportedly often bordered on intimidation. Mr. Kato denied any involvement, but it is difficult to believe he was totally unaware of what his campaign treasurer was doing. There is, indeed, suspicion that he might have turned a blind eye. Even if he was not involved, however, he cannot escape oversight responsibility.

In the past, Diet members' dubious relations with their secretaries, mostly privately hired, often led to corruption. The Sato case is a reminder that this is a difficult problem to eradicate. One solution would be to close the loopholes in the antigraft law so that a politician would also be punished for improper use of influence by his or her private secretary.

Mr. Kato must testify before the Diet and answer questions forthrightly with a view toward rooting out this hotbed of political corruption. The public will be further disappointed in him if he gives only excuses and apologies, as Mr. Suzuki did. After that, he will have to consider how to take political responsibility in a way befitting his erstwhile status as an LDP heavyweight.

Thus far he has refused to resign from the Diet, as has Mr. Suzuki. Of course, a resignation by Mr. Kato cannot be discussed in the same way as that by Mr. Suzuki, who is involved in scandals of a different nature. But if Mr. Kato is to stand by his promise to remake the LDP, he has no choice but to quit the Diet and start from scratch. That seems to be the only way out for a man whose political life depends on how he behaves from here on.

Mr. Kato was once a member of the "YKK group," named after LDP Secretary General Taku Yamasaki, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and himself. The trio's aim, unmaking the old LDP, will suffer a setback if Mr. Kato is left in political limbo. A big sacrifice now — leaving the Diet to make a fresh start — may well be a blessing in disguise.

The Japan Times: March 20, 2002
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      佐藤容疑者が逮捕された時、加藤氏は監督責任を認め、国民の政治への信頼を傷つけ た政治的、道義的責任があると述べた。しかし今後の行動については言葉を濁し、そ の曖昧な態度は熱心な改革者としての氏のイメージを一層傷つけた。

      加藤氏は何日間も事態の推移を見守った後、離党を決めたが、苦渋の決断にしても遅 すぎた。鈴木氏に続く離党の表明で、状況に押し流されたような印象を与えた。自分 の進退は党執行部に一任するという発言が、保身に汲々として責任逃れをしていると して党内外で批判された。氏自身が脱税に直接関与していないとしても、事件との距 離を置こうとした態度が信望をさらに損なったようだ。

      佐藤容疑者は山形県の公共工事にからむ建設会社からの賄賂など、3年間で2億8千万 円を申告せず、所得税約1億円を脱税したとされる。加藤氏の側近としての地位を利 用し、公共工事を狙う業者から帳簿外の資金を集めたという。これは政治家、官僚、 企業の「癒着の三角形」の一部に過ぎないだろう。注目されるのは、加藤氏が違法な資 金集めに関わっていたかどうかだ。氏は関与を否定しているが、選挙資金調達を担当 していた佐藤容疑者の行動について全く気づかなかったとは信じがたく、見て見ぬふ りをしていた疑いがある。関与がないとしても監督責任は免れない。

      今回の脱税事件は議員と秘書の怪しげな関係からくる汚職の根絶の難しさを物語って いる。解決策としては、汚職防止法の抜け穴をなくし、政治家の私設秘書が影響力を 不当に行使した場合、政治家自身も罰を受けるようにすればよい。加藤氏は国会議員 を辞職しないと言っているが、氏が自民党改革の約束を守るつもりなら、議員を辞職 して一から出直すしかない。山崎、小泉、加藤の「YKK」 トリオの、自民党の体質を改 革するという目標は、加藤氏が指導力を失えば後退する。議員辞職という犠牲は、氏 にとって今はつらいように見えても後にためになる試練といえるのではないか。

The Japan Times Weekly
March 30, 2002
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