Current location:style >>
VOX POPULI: Seven years on, the Moritomo Gakuen scandal still unexplained
style21186People have gathered around
Introduction“Spotlight” is a 2015 U.S. film based on a true story of The Boston Globe’s team of reporters exposi ...
“Spotlight” is a 2015 U.S. film based on a true story of The Boston Globe’s team of reporters exposing extensive child sexual abuse by Catholic priests and the systemic cover-up of the scandal.
In one memorable scene, one of the reporters meets with a judge and requests access to a document that has been submitted to the court for evidence.
But the judge tells him with a scowl that the document in question is highly classified and demands to know who at the newspaper will take responsibility if the document gets published.
The reporter immediately replies with a question that goes to the effect: “But if we don’t publish it, who is going to take responsibility?”
According to a reporter of the local newspaper on which the movie was based, the above exchange really did take place before the court released the document.
The film reminds me of the sorry reality of information disclosure in Japan.
Incredible fuss is made over the possibility of problems emerging because of the disclosure, whereas no one who decides against disclosure has their responsibility questioned.
Something is quite amiss in this.
It was on Feb. 9 exactly seven years ago that The Asahi Shimbun first reported on the so-called Moritomo Gakuen scandal.
Why did the government sell its land at a whopping discount of 800 million yen ($5.35 million) in such a murky way?
Why did the Finance Ministry falsify its documents?
These questions remain unanswered to this day.
No progress has been made in the disclosure of official documents that are crucial to anyone’s understanding of this scandal in its entirety.
In a lawsuit demanding the disclosure of documents the Finance Ministry submitted to prosecutors, even whether those falsified documents exist has not been revealed.
Official documents are meant for disclosure “in principle,” says the government. Well, talk is cheap.
By obscuring reality, are we not allowing irreparable damage to be made to what is truly important but invisible to the eye, such as the future of our democracy and social justice?
Who is going to take responsibility--and how--for not revealing the truth?
The Moritomo Gakuen scandal is definitely not over.
--The Asahi Shimbun, Feb. 9
* *
*Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
Tags:
Reprint:Friends are welcome to share on the Internet, but please indicate the source of the article when reprinting it.“Global Gateway news portal”。http://laos.campingcolorado.net/article-86e399912.html
Related articles
Storms damage homes in Oklahoma and Kansas. But in Houston, most power is restored
styleWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Fast-moving storms with strong winds, large hail and apparent tornadoes swept O ...
【style】
Read moreWhat DO cicadas do? Everything you need to know about sex
styleTrillions of slumbering, sex-crazed cicadas are expected to reemerge across the US starting this mon ...
【style】
Read moreArizona is boosting efforts to protect people from the extreme heat after hundreds died last summer
styleTEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Arizona’s new heat officer said Friday that he is working with local governments ...
【style】
Read more
Popular articles
- Hollywood star Shia LaBeouf is spotted on the streets of Gavin and Stacey's hometown Barry
- Kathryn Newton is ultra chic in head
- Cobra Kai trailer features new footage from the sixth and final season that is split into a three
- Tragic Titan sub may have crumbled under 'micro
- Rangers are undefeated at .500 to keep World Series champs from a losing record with Bochy
- Judge denies pretrial release of a man charged with killing a Chicago police officer
Latest articles
Russian theater director and playwright go on trial over a play authorities say justifies terrorism
Closing prices for crude oil, gold and other commodities
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Escaped zebra captured near Seattle after gallivanting around Cascade mountain foothills for days
MPs' fury at 'virtue
Drew Barrymore unveils new fashion collaboration with Justin Bieber's Drew House brand
LINKS
- Chris Pratt spends Mother's Day with wife Katherine Schwarzenegger and mother
- Giants place Jung Hoo Lee on injured list with a dislocated left shoulder
- Brewers' Rhys Hoskins leaves game with injury after hitting a second
- I was the first person in the world to survive RABIES without a vaccine
- GameStop, AMC stocks surge as Roaring Kitty returns
- Westminster Kennel Club: At the 148th show, a display of dogs and devotion
- Cavaliers Donovan Mitchell to miss Game 4 against Celtics
- Ivanka Trump beams in all
- Owner of Raptors and Maple Leafs in talks to seal buying French soccer club Saint
- Michael Jordan weeps during grand opening of his third clinic with his mom in North Carolina