<figure id="attachment_348059" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-348059" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="37397d42"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/12/93d73e72d0a515de92e9c7a37c2dec02.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-348059" class="wp-caption-text">Yaichi Tanigawa, a member of the House of Representatives, is suspected of having a 40 million yen slush fund. &#8230;&#8230;</figcaption></figure>
 Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is expected to purge the Abe faction from the center of his administration over the slush fund issue surrounding political fund parties. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno and METI Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura are among the 15 cabinet ministers who are expected to be ousted.
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 There are other Diet members who have attracted attention in a &#8220;bad&#8221; way.
 Tanigawa Yaichi, 82, a seven-time elected member of the House of Representatives, is a former vice minister of education.
 On December 10, he was questioned by reporters about a kickback of more than 40 million yen from the Abe faction that he allegedly failed to include in his income and expenditure report. &#8230;&#8230;
 From a reporter,
 The reporter asked, &#8220;There were reports that there were kickbacks in excess of 40 million yen, but what are the facts?&#8221;
 Tanigawa replied as if it were a matter of course.
 I&#8217;ll read it out.
 Tanigawa prefaced his answer with, &#8220;I will read out the facts,&#8221; and then looked down at the paper in his hand.
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 We will carefully investigate and confirm the facts of the matter and take appropriate action,&#8221; Tanigawa said without a hint of apology.
 The reporters would not be put off by this.
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" The Saga Prefectural Governor, who called the issue &quot;North or South Korea&quot; and..."></div>
Q. Did you get a kickback? 
 &#8216;I&#8217;m just commenting now. I can only comment now.
 Q. How much was your quota? 
 Q. How much was the quota? I just told you.&#8221;
 He repeatedly pushed and prodded, giving no answer at all. To top it all off
 You&#8217;re so stupid, aren&#8217;t you? I told you so. Even if I asked you a question, you said you wouldn&#8217;t say any more today. Don&#8217;t you understand?&#8221;
 He even got in front of the camera and said, &#8220;The people are suffering from the invoice system and the one-yen unit.
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 While the Japanese people are suffering from the invoice system and other taxation problems down to the penny, the politicians are furious at the revelation that they have been receiving one million yen a month in old correspondence fees that do not require receipts, as well as kickbacks that they allegedly pocketed as slush funds.
 In the midst of all this, Councilor Tanigawa said, &#8220;You&#8217;re not very smart, are you?&#8221; and added fuel to the fire with a remark that made fun of others. He is 82 years old, has been elected seven times, and has been called &#8216;sensei&#8217; (teacher) for so many years that I don&#8217;t think he has any sense of the average person.
 The Kishida administration, which is in a tearful state due to its slumping approval rating, is hoping to make a comeback by cutting off the Abe faction, and Tanigawa has further &#8220;thrown fuel&#8221; on the fire.
 Speaking of Tanigawa, he has had his share of outbursts in the past. In 2007, Saga Prefecture Governor Yamaguchi said, &#8220;It is unacceptable to make a decision in a short period of time.
 Tanigawa said, &#8220;It is unacceptable to make a decision in such a short period of time.
 Tanigawa said, &#8220;We are dealing with South Korea or North Korea.
 Tanigawa said, &#8220;I feel as if we are dealing with South Korea or North Korea.
 Tanigawa was later forced to explain his position.
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 In 2004, when the House of Representatives Cabinet Committee was deliberating a bill to lift the ban on casinos, Tanigawa said he had &#8220;too much time left&#8221; after the questioning was over, and suddenly started chanting the Heart Sutra and talking about his love for his hometown, which he called &#8220;unintelligible. He was criticized by many as &#8220;not making any sense.
 After graduating from Nagasaki Higashi High School, Tanigawa went to work for his family&#8217;s lumber mill. He later established and grew his own construction company and ran for and won a seat in the Nagasaki Prefectural Assembly, winning five consecutive terms and even becoming chairman of the assembly.
 He later moved to the House of Representatives, where he made his fortune in the local &#8220;construction business&#8221; and became a national politician after serving as a local legislator, which is very LDP-like. He is a typical politician who has survived through &#8220;profit-oriented&#8221; politics for his hometown.
 For once, we hope that he will speak the &#8220;truth&#8221; instead of &#8220;sutra.

 Kyodo News

 The LDP party ticket "slush fund" issue is rocking the Diet. When pressed about the allegations, Yaichi Tanigawa, a seven-time elected member of the House of Representatives and a former vice minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, took offense and said, "I'm not going to do it... ......

The &#8220;You&#8217;re so stupid&#8221; comment caused a firestorm&#8230; The &#8220;true face&#8221; and &#8220;surprising educational background&#8221; of a Diet member who is &#8220;suspected of having 40 million yen in slush funds&#8221; from the Liberal Democratic Party.

The “You’re so stupid” comment caused a firestorm… The “true face” and “surprising educational background” of a Diet member who is “suspected of having 40 million yen in slush funds” from the Liberal Democratic Party.

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