Paper chase fandango

学歴詐称問題の波紋

On Jan. 27, Mr. Koga acknowledged that he had failed to earn the credits required for graduation. He tendered his resignation to the party but vowed to carry on as an independent member of the Diet.

The DPJ decided to reject his resignation from the party; instead, it struck Mr. Koga's name from the party roll. As the heaviest punitive step under the party's code of ethics, the decision is almost equal to a call on Mr. Koga to quit the Diet.

It remains unclear whether he intentionally dressed up his U.S. education to win a Diet seat. But there is no denying that he provided voters with erroneous information about his academic record. He says he will go back to the school to complete the remaining credits even while the Diet is in session. The better option would be to resign and run in the next election after obtaining a degree.

This is yet another case in which an aspiring politician has put his political future at risk because of a seemingly minor campaign irregularity. In November's election, Mr. Koga, a former Liberal-Democratic Party member of the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly, ran on the DPJ ticket from a Fukuoka district and won a stunning victory in defeating the LDP's former vice president, Mr. Taku Yamasaki.

According to his resume, he graduated from Pepperdine's commercial art department. The strange thing is that he relied almost entirely on the information supplied by his lawyer in the United States. "I was convinced of my graduation," he said, "because my lawyer handled all the procedures." Yet Mr. Koga should have known better than anyone else whether he actually graduated from the school.

Many of those who voted for him must be disappointed, not because he dropped out but because he did not reveal that fact. Indeed, it is highly doubtful that his claim to be a "Pepperdine graduate" was a decisive factor in his victory.

Under the Public Offices Election Law, a candidate who has provided false information about his or her status, occupation or career may be sentenced to prison for up to two years or fined as much as ¥300,000. If the candidate's guilt is established, his or her election will be declared null and void.

There is precedent for this. An Upper House member was accused of having stated in an official election bulletin that he "entered but did not graduate" from a university he never attended. Following a trial, he was convicted and lost his Diet seat.

Legally, the focal question is whether Mr. Koga intended to "deceive" voters. Even if he did, he probably deserves some extenuating consideration because he attended Pepperdine and acquired a substantial number of credits. Nevertheless, he cannot escape political and moral responsibility.

Mr. Koga apparently believes that he has done what he should do by leaving his party and giving up his salary. (Under the relevant law, though, the popularly elected legislator is required to receive his salary as long as he remains a Diet member.) That may not suffice. Members of the governing coalition are moving to present a motion calling for his resignation from the Diet. Officials of the Japanese Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party are calling on him to resign "voluntarily."

The DPJ president, Mr. Naoto Kan, and some other party executives had at first seemed more concerned about the effect on members of the defunct Liberal Party who joined the DPJ last year prior to the November poll. Mr. Koga is close to the LP's former leader, Mr. Ichiro Ozawa, the DPJ's acting president. In the end, however, party members took the right step.

Mr. Koga was regarded as a "new hope" of the DPJ in the general election, but his scandal has damaged prospects for the leading opposition party.

The Japan Times Weekly
Feb. 7, 2004
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      1月27日、古賀氏は単位不足で未卒業だったことを認め、民主党に離党届を提出したが、議員辞職は拒否した。しかし党は離党届を受理せず、古賀議員に対し除籍処分を決定した。

      古賀氏が故意に学歴詐称をしたかどうかは不明だが、有権者に対し学歴について誤った情報を与えたのは事実である。

      福岡県議会の自民党議員だった古賀氏は、総選挙で山崎拓自民党前副総裁を破り国政にデビューした。氏は選挙公報で、ペパーダイン大学商業芸術学部卒としていたが、卒業について「米国の弁護士にすべての手続を任せた」と主張した。卒業の有無は誰よりも彼自身が知っているはずだ。

      古賀氏が「ペパーダイン大卒」と称したことが、当選の決定的要因だったとは考えられない。

      公職選挙法では、「当選目的で虚偽の経歴を公表した場合は、 2年以下の禁固または30万円以下の罰金に処す」と定められており、有罪となれば、当選は無効になる。

      法的には、古賀氏が故意に有権者を欺いたか否かが問題になる。ペパーダイン大に在籍し、単位もかなり取得したのだから、 情状酌量の余地はあるが、政治的、道徳的責任は免れない。

      与党側には古賀氏に対し議員辞職勧告決議案を提出する動きがあり、共産党、社民党は｢自発的辞職｣を求めている。

      古賀氏は民主党の小沢一郎代表代行（元自由党代表）と関係が深かったため、党執行部は問題が党内の自由党出身者に波及するのを心配していたが、党は最終的に正しい措置を取った。

      民主党「期待の星」とされていた古賀氏をめぐるスキャンダルで、野党第一党の民主党に厳しい局面が続きそうだ。