大竹紳士交遊録 - 大竹まことゴールデンラジオ！currently outside the Japan top 100
【金子勝】2026年10月16日 簗農水相辞任／関文科相／政治資金パーティー／法の支配
Economist Kaneko Masaru appeared on the October 16, 2026 broadcast to frame the resignation of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Yanagi as a 'second Moritomo problem,' arguing that Prime Minister Takaichi's pledge to 'take appointment responsibility seriously' was empty words. He traced a pattern of benefit-steering toward pro-Yanagi municipalities, document suppression echoing the Moritomo affair, and a cabinet stacked with slush-fund politicians. Kaneko laid out three concrete steps Takaichi must take to make appointment responsibility meaningful.
What this episode answers
Why can the Yanagi resignation be called a 'second Moritomo problem'?
Yanagi sought to influence the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) in his role as LDP Vice Secretary-General, yet no records of his meetings with Vice Minister Sasaki are said to exist — the same document-suppression pattern seen in the Moritomo affair — and public works were steered toward municipalities that backed Yanagi while being cut from those that did not.
What does Kaneko see as the real issue behind Takaichi's criticism of Yanagi's remark as 'lame'?
Kaneko argues the criticism reveals Takaichi's own operating principle: by calling Yanagi's remark 'disgraceful,' she is implicitly telling others to behave as she does, having herself escaped accountability twice — once by calling MIC broadcast-law documents 'fabricated' in March 2023, and once by submitting a 'I don't know' letter at the very end of the Diet session over the AI-video affair.
Why does Kaneko say Takaichi's invocation of 'the rule of law' rings hollow?
Takaichi called the rule of law essential at the UN General Assembly yet has never clearly opposed U.S. sanctions on the ICC, unlike the Netherlands, UK, France, Germany, and Denmark; Kaneko argues the rule of law must be grounded in a sense of justice, which Takaichi demonstrably lacks.
What would it actually mean for Takaichi to fulfill appointment responsibility?
Kaneko specifies three steps: fully investigate the scandal as a second Moritomo problem, explicitly pledge never again to appoint slush-fund politicians, and demand Diet member resignation — not just ministerial resignation — for the public election law violations involving free shuttle buses and payments to campaign workers.
How are Education Minister Seki and Hagiuda connected to this scandal?
Seki held a fundraising party at the Diet members' office building in June 2024 in violation of the prohibition on such parties, confirmed in political funds reports; Kaneko identifies Hagiuda as the real target — the architect of the ¥9.6 trillion gasoline subsidy program and recipient of ¥50 million in annual petroleum-federation donations — with Yanagi and Seki serving as his advance guard.
Yanagi's Resignation and the "Second Moritomo Problem"
On a clear autumn day, economist Kaneko Masaru (金子勝) opened by declaring that "the Diet is in tatters." Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Yanagi had resigned, and Prime Minister Takaichi (高市) stated she "takes appointment responsibility seriously" — but Kaneko flatly dismissed this: "There is no indication whatsoever of how she intends to take it seriously."
Kaneko frames the scandal as a "second Moritomo problem." Yanagi, serving as LDP Vice Secretary-General, allegedly sought to influence the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), yet no records of his meetings with Vice Minister Sasaki are said to exist. This mirrors the Moritomo Gakuen affair, in which the Finance Ministry insisted documents did not exist, only for court-ordered disclosures to produce materials with heavy redactions and missing pages. "The pattern — where the absence of meeting records means no problem ever surfaces — is becoming entrenched across the state," Kaneko warned.
Specific allegations of benefit-steering were also raised. In Nasu Karasuyama City and Nakagawa Town, Tochigi Prefecture, public works projects were cut on the grounds that "no priority plan existed," while municipalities that backed Yanagi saw public works increase despite similarly lacking priority plans. In Okinawa, municipalities where candidates opposing Governor Tamaki Denny (玉城知事) won elections received grants from the national government — a pattern Kaneko linked to the Suga administration's systematic reduction of grants to pro-governor municipalities.
The "Lame" Remark and Takaichi's Operating Principle
During the campaign, Yanagi had said road budget cuts were coming — a remark Takaichi publicly called "dasai" (lame). Kaneko restated this as "disgraceful," then pressed the key question: "If that was disgraceful, what would not be disgraceful? She is telling everyone: behave the way I do."
Kaneko cited two instances of what he calls Takaichi's "play-dumb success." First, in March 2023, Upper House member Konishi Hiroyuki (小西博之) confronted Takaichi with Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications documents showing her involvement, as then-Minister, in changing the government's interpretation of the broadcast law. Takaichi called the documents "fabricated." Even after the ministry confirmed they existed, she muddied the water by insisting "the staff's impression differs," and the matter ended inconclusively. Second, during the party leadership race and general election, a public secretary was proven to have commissioned AI-generated videos from a vendor and to have held online meetings with them. Takaichi stalled with "I will respond in writing," then submitted a document saying "I don't know" at the very end of the Diet session and walked away.
"Rule of Law" and the Absence of a Sense of Justice
Takaichi frequently invokes the "rule of law," but Kaneko is scathing: "The rule of law must be grounded in a sense of justice. Takaichi has not a shred of it."
His evidence: Takaichi addressed the UN General Assembly calling the rule of law essential, yet has not clearly opposed U.S. sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) — sanctions that the Netherlands, UK, France, Germany, Denmark and other European nations have publicly condemned. The ICC adjudicates acts approaching war crimes, including an AI-guided airstrike on a girls' elementary school that killed 150 to 160 people, and the killing of senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard commanders without any declaration of war. The Foreign Ministry has offered a nominal statement "as an ICC member," but Takaichi herself has never stated clear opposition — and that silence, Kaneko argues, reveals the absence of any genuine sense of justice.
Three Conditions for True Appointment Responsibility
Kaneko laid out three things Takaichi must actually do to fulfill appointment responsibility.
**First: full investigation as the second Moritomo problem.** The institutional habit of making problems disappear by simply having no meeting records must not be allowed to stand.
**Second: a clear pledge never again to appoint slush-fund politicians.** Several current cabinet members are implicated in slush-fund scandals. Education Minister Seki (関) held a fundraising party at the Diet members' office building in June 2024 — at the height of the slush-fund controversy and in violation of the prohibition on such parties there — a fact confirmed in political funds reports. Kaneko identifies Hagiuda (萩生田) as "the real target": Hagiuda designed the ¥9.6 trillion gasoline subsidy program and receives ¥50 million in annual donations from the petroleum federation. Yanagi and Seki, Kaneko argued, are merely Hagiuda's advance guard.
**Third: pursue Diet member resignation, not just ministerial resignation, for public election law violations.** Free shuttle buses to campaign speeches and cash payments to campaign workers constitute clear vote-buying. Demanding resignation from the Diet — not only from the cabinet — is what appointment responsibility actually requires. "Without going that far, no one can trust any of this. Saying 'I take it seriously' without following through is just empty words," Kaneko concluded.
Takeaways
- The Yanagi resignation is not an isolated scandal but a repeat of the Moritomo pattern — benefit-steering toward allied municipalities and the suppression of meeting records — making it the 'second Moritomo problem.'
- Takaichi's 'rule of law' rhetoric is contradicted by her silence on U.S. ICC sanctions and by her own history of stonewalling with impunity, revealing an operating principle built on playing dumb rather than any genuine sense of justice.
- Genuine appointment responsibility requires three concrete acts — full investigation, an explicit no-slush-fund pledge, and demanding Diet resignation for election law violations — not the verbal assurance of 'taking it seriously.'
This article is edited from a machine transcript of the first 30 minutes of the episode. It is not an official summary — please listen to the episode itself.