Political Corruption and Crime

 The most prominent political corruption scandals in Japan:

The Lockheed scandal was a major political corruption scandal in Japan that occurred in the late 1970s. The scandal centered around allegations that Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka had accepted bribes from the American aircraft manufacturer Lockheed Corporation in exchange for awarding the company a contract to supply Japan with F-15 fighter jets. Tanaka was indicted on charges of bribery and corruption, and he was eventually convicted and sentenced to four years in prison. The scandal led to a loss of public confidence in the Japanese government and contributed to the rise of the Japanese Socialist Party.

The Recruit scandal was a major political corruption scandal in Japan that occurred in the late 1980s. The scandal centered around allegations that the Recruit Cosmos Company, a Japanese securities firm, had provided political favors and financial benefits to politicians and other government officials in exchange for favorable treatment. The scandal led to the resignation of several high-ranking government officials, including Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita. The scandal also led to a renewed focus on political corruption in Japan, and it contributed to the passage of new laws to regulate political donations and campaign finance.

The Moritomo Gakuen scandal was a major political corruption scandal in Japan that occurred in 2017. The scandal centered around allegations that the Moritomo Gakuen, a private school founded by the wife of then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, had been given preferential treatment in the purchase of a government-owned plot of land at a below-market price. The scandal led to Abe's resignation as prime minister. The scandal also led to a renewed focus on political corruption in Japan, and it contributed to the passage of new laws to regulate government procurement.

1-Today’s Japanese language
Japanese Basic Vocabulary Related to Political Corruption and Crime (Romaji):
汚職 (oshhoku): corruption
犯罪 (hanzai): crime
不正 (fusei): wrongdoing, impropriety
スキャンダル (sukyandāru): scandal
逮捕 (taihō): arrest
起訴 (kiso): indictment
裁判 (saiban): trial
有罪 (yūzai): guilty
無罪 (muzai): innocent
刑罰 (keibatsu): punishment
賄賂 (waいろ): bribe
談合 (dankō): collusion
裏金 (uragane): slush fund
背任 (hainin): breach of trust
横領 (yōryō): embezzlement
政商癒着 (seishō yūchaku): collusion between politicians and businesses
組織犯罪 (soshiki hanzai): organized crime
マフィア (mafia): mafia
ヤクザ (yakuza): Japanese organized crime syndicate

2- Today’s news
5 senior Abe faction members deny involvement in not reporting kickbacks
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20231226_21/
Tokyo prosecutors have questioned, on a voluntary basis, five senior Abe faction members.
The sources say the five explained that they knew the amount exceeding the quota was refunded to the lawmakers' offices, but did not know the money was not listed in the faction's political funds reports.

Japan dept. store operator apologizes for delivering damaged Christmas cakes
https://mainichi.jp/.../arti.../20231225/p2a/00m/0bu/004000c
Some of the customers complained on X (formerly Twitter), "The cake arrived in a mess," and, "I was looking forward to it. It's such a shame."

Basic Japanese-1
https://youtu.be/GoD7Hov1ubY?si=WVB9OZpf_nbXEQKL

Basic Japanese-2
https://youtu.be/IKHxwSktbuA?si=XODWDSAlec_9KOvO
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Nihongo class
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