The governor of Tokyo Naoki Inose has announced his resignation on December 19, 2013, after confirming the allegations that he received money from a hospital company plagued by scandals. Inose was the one who helped in bringing the 2020 Olympics to Tokyo.
The governor explained that almost $500,000 payment which he received was a personal and interest-free loan and the money has been returned already. However, critics are insisting that the payment amounted to bribery and Inose has been under pressure to resign for several weeks. In a live televised announcement on December 19, 2013, the governor of Tokyo said that he did not want the scandal to interfere with the preparations of Tokyo to host the Olympic Games.
The governor said, “We should not let metropolitan government work stop over my personal issues, especially at this time when Japan has just about come out of a long tunnel of darkness and is about to make a running dash toward the [Summer Olympic Games] of 2020”. The mayor – who is also an author – apologized publicly for the scandal.
Inose went on to say that he was an amateur politician and was not aware of all the procedures which he was supposed to oblige. The governor also said that the Tokushukai hospital chain did not get any favors for the payment. The company has been accused of electioneering practices in the past.
Photo Credits: Japan Daily Press
