High-ranking official fired for dinners at expense of businessmen

A senior government official of the Prime Minister of Japan, Yoshihide Suga, who is considered to be a close associate of the Prime Minister, was removed from his post due to suspicions of violating the code of conduct for civil servants. This was reported by the Kyodo agency.

According to the report, Vice Minister of Administrative Affairs and Communications Yasuhiko Taniwaki met three times for dinner with representatives of the country’s largest telecommunications company NTT (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone) from 2018 to 2020.

It is reported that NTT representatives paid for the meals each time. In total, they cost 107 thousand yen ($ 987).

In Japan, current legislation prohibits government officials from receiving gifts of any kind from representatives of companies in the sectors they regulate.