Independent] Allegations of “tacit approval of illegal welfare payments” surfaced against Nahoko Shinoda, a member of the House of Representatives of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan.

Emails that seem to tacitly endorse “illegal activities

The House of Representatives Legal Affairs Committee finally began deliberations on a bill to allow married couples to choose their own surname, which was expected to be a contentious issue in the current Diet session in which the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is in the minority.

Perhaps to sway the LDP, whose members are divided on the issue, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) took a “jab” at the budget committee (third subcommittee) as early as February. The following question was based on the actual experience of Nahoko Shinoda, 53, a member of the House of Representatives (proportional Hokkaido), who was first elected in last fall’s general election.

My family name is Nakagawa, but I am a Diet member under the name of Naoko Shinoda. I have four children, all of whom have the surname Nakagawa, and I work under the name Shinoda.

In the discussion on the selective surname system, there are arguments against it, such as “I feel sorry for the children” if the surnames of the parents or the parents and children are different. (omission) There are already many families in which the parents and children have different surnames, so I think it is very misguided to say that we should feel sorry for them.

After graduating from a public high school in eastern Hokkaido, Shinoda spent two years as a ronin before entering the Faculty of Law at Hokkaido University. However, in the course of such activities, the author has obtained certain evidence that raises questions about his qualifications not only as a lawyer but also as a member of the Diet.

The author has in his possession a record of a divorce suit filed by a woman named Ms. A and her husband between 2000 and 2004. Mr. Shinoda, who was a lawyer at the time, represented the wife, Ms. A (the plaintiff/petitioner) in the case and ultimately obtained a divorce decree from the Supreme Court, as well as having the wife granted custody of the two children.

In addition, the author has records of lawsuits in which the husband’s side sought damages from Mr. Shinoda as an attorney.

In addition to these records, the author has in his possession records of a lawsuit in which the husband’s side sought damages from Mr. Shinoda as an attorney. In one such exchange, there was an e-mail in which Mr. Shinoda seemed to tacitly approve of Ms. A’s “illegal act.

‘I hope we can discuss with the doctor how to explain this.

The e-mail was first sent to Ms. A at 11:15 a.m. on September 13, ’13, by attorney Junichi Nakagawa. Attorney Nakagawa, who appears here, is Mr. Shinoda’s husband; the two of them had opened a law firm in Kushiro City, Hokkaido, and were also representing Ms. A. Together, they had a law firm in Kushiro City, Hokkaido. Mr. Shinoda’s e-mail address was listed in the CC section so that they could share the same information.

This is Nakagawa, attorney-at-law. [omitted].

Shinoda is on a business trip, so I will e-mail on his behalf.

Yesterday at the trial, mutual written documents and evidence were submitted. (omitted).

Regarding the division of property, it was decided that all accounts in both parties’ names should be submitted. (Omitted)〉 (Original text in Japanese only)

The manner in which property is to be divided is one of the basic terms to be discussed in a divorce. The first step would be to clarify all the financial accounts that both parties have created so far, and to grasp all the assets.

At 2:08 p.m. on the same day, Ms. A sent the following reply to Mr. Nakagawa alone.

(omitted in advance) Japan Post Bank said my husband only had about 100,000 (yen), but there was about 660,000. In order to receive welfare, I left about 400,000 to my parents. I wish I could discuss with the doctor how to explain this, but since all the bank books are my husband’s, I think I need to ask him to send them to me first.

What this e-mail suggests is the suspicion that by intentionally reducing the amount of her savings, Ms. A may have been illegally receiving welfare benefits.

An official at the regional division in charge of welfare in Kushiro Town, Hokkaido, where Ms. A was living at the time, told the author the following in response to our interview.

The financial situation of applicants for public assistance is basically that they have no income, no savings or cash on hand, and cannot expect support from their families. Although it varies from family to family, in general, for a mother and two children, the cost of maintaining a minimum standard of living is about 180,000 yen. A savings account of about 100,000 yen could qualify for public assistance.”

Among the court documents is a copy of a bank book, which also confirms the withdrawal movements as described by Ms. A in her e-mail. It seems that she had reduced her savings balance to a level that met the conditions for receiving public assistance.

However, when discussing the division of property, it became necessary to show the husband’s side the past bankbooks. The date and amount of deposits and withdrawals were written in the bankbook, and she faced a situation in which her husband, who was at odds with her over the divorce and custody of their child, would find out about her wrongdoing.

In fact, an e-mail sent by Ms. A to attorney Nakagawa at 4:22 p.m. on the same day shows that she was upset.

I have made it impossible to use the Japan Post Bank’s bankbook, but since it was too late to do so, it is possible that [her husband] knows [the deposit/withdrawal history of the account]” (quotation marks in parentheses).

Are these e-mails not “confessions of guilt” of receiving illegal welfare payments? And how did Mr. Shinoda respond to his client’s confession?

Normally, Mr. Shinoda should have told Ms. A at the time he learned of the fraud and stopped her from receiving the money. In reality, however, it seems that Mr. Shinoda did not take such action.

I understand about the welfare case.”

At 10:17 a.m. on October 28, a little over a month later, Ms. A sent the following e-mail to Mr. Shinoda.

[Good morning. (Omitted) My parents’ mortgage will end in December, so I have decided to end my welfare at the end of December.

To this e-mail, Mr. Shinoda replied as follows

This is Shinoda. （I understand about the welfare.

The content of the e-mail is a report from Ms. A to Mr. Shinoda that she has decided to withdraw from the welfare program. From a different perspective, however, Mr. Shinoda understands that Ms. A will receive welfare benefits for a certain period of time. Combined with the contents of the aforementioned e-mails, it is possible that Mr. Shinoda tacitly approved of Ms. A’s improper receipt of welfare benefits for at least four months from September to December 2001.

In addition to these email exchanges, we have other evidence supporting Ms. A’s fraudulent receipt of welfare benefits. The real estate registry of her parents’ house shows that there was indeed “her parents’ mortgage,” which Ms. A mentioned in the e-mail.

According to the registry, Ms. A’s parents’ house was mortgaged as of January 30, ’07 (Heisei 19), and 8.5 million yen was borrowed from a financial institution in the name of a person believed to be her father. The repayment of the loan was completed on January 6, 2002. Since these contents are almost identical to the contents of Ms. A’s e-mail, there is a strong possibility that the welfare payments she illegally received were used to repay the loan on her parents’ house.

And Mr. Shinoda should not be surprised to know this as well.

If Mr. Shinoda was aware of these illegal activities by his client, even though they occurred more than 10 years ago, it would be inappropriate for him to continue his duties not only as a lawyer but also as a member of the Diet.

When we asked Shinoda’s office for their opinion, they responded as follows.

Due to the confidentiality obligation of attorneys, we do not give answers to specific cases.

In addition to following the professional code of lawyers, Mr. Shinoda is also expected to be accountable as a member of the Diet, but there was no mention of this point.

Naoyuki Miyashita (nonfiction writer)
naoyukimiyashita@pm.me