Shinjiro Koizumi Throws Fastball in Cabinet Office Basement as Former Chauffeur Reveals Hidden Faces of Famous Ministers

In the previous article “Reality of Grabbing Money Revealed with Cash Stuffed as Farewell Gifts and Unclear Uses of Government Confidential Funds,” Mr. Shoichi Ishikawa (a pseudonym), who worked as a chauffeur for ministers at the Cabinet Office, revealed that the Cabinet’s secret funds (officially known as the Cabinet Secretariat’s discretionary funds) were being used as “farewell gifts” for ministers heading on overseas trips.

Read the first part of the article, “Reality of Grabbing Money Revealed with Cash Stuffed as Farewell Gifts and Unclear Uses of Government Confidential Funds”.

According to Mr. Ishikawa, the following three individuals were avoided by chauffeurs who didn’t want to “take the wheel” for these politicians: Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi (68), former Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yasutoshi Nishimura (61), and former House of Councillors Secretary-General Hiroshige Seko (61).

“For the heat-sensitive Mr. Motegi, there was always a cooler box placed behind the driver’s seat. The secretaries would prepare drinks for him every day. Even the drinks had specific instructions, such as ‘Evian’ for water and ‘Yunker’ for energy drinks. I’ve never heard of any other government officials being this particular, except for Mr. Motegi. Since he’s a smoker, he would get irritable if he couldn’t smoke. Naturally, he smoked inside the car as well. Although official vehicles are supposed to be non-smoking, no one could stop him, so cleaning the ashtray, air conditioning, and the car interior was quite a hassle.

Mr. Motegi loves massages and would go to a parlor whenever he had time. We would be left waiting in a narrow alley in Akasaka during this time, but I wish he would use the office car for such things. While we were just waiting in the car, the security personnel (SP) had to stand at the entrance of the parlor, checking for suspicious individuals. If it were for official duties, I would understand, but we were merely accommodating his hobby. And yet, I never saw Mr. Motegi give any kind of gratuity from his own pocket to the security personnel.”