The government and the Liberal Democratic Party are wary about the remarks and behavior of Akie Abe, the wife of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The relationship between Akie and school operator Moritomo Gakuen has become a point of interest in the case involving alterations made to official documents regarding approval for the sale of state land to Moritomo. Akie's words and deeds might thereby provide opportunities for the opposition camp to apply strong pressure on the Abe administration, according to sources.
Akie is known for actively communicating with the public, but the government is considering reducing her activities, such as her participation in events, the sources said.
"We hope Akie will take the utmost care." Attendees at a meeting of LDP deputy secretaries general on Tuesday voiced their concern with such comments. "Otherwise, the problems will expand."
At an event related to social welfare in Aichi Prefecture on Saturday, Akie said she wants "to make every day a precious one, unafraid of what could happen in the future."
There was also a "like" from her Facebook account for a post critical of the opposition parties that was posted to her page on the night of March 11.
A top party official said, "Akie's actions put the opposition camp on edge."
When altering the official documents, the Finance Ministry deleted descriptions related to the prime minister's wife. Pre-alteration, the descriptions didn't indicate that she was involved in the land sale, so Abe emphasized that he and his wife clearly had no hand in the case. The opposition parties, however, said the deletion was evidence that bureaucrats had surmised otherwise, and are calling for Akie to testify.
Akie has caused a stir at times due to her free-spirited manner. For example, she once inspected the scene of a protest against the government in Okinawa Prefecture in the summer of 2016.
Last year, after a temporary suspension due to criticism over her giving a lecture at Moritomo Gakuen among other things, it was less than one month before Akie was again updating her Facebook page. A source related to the government said, "This time she has to watch herself, for sure."
Apparently with these concerns in mind, Akie's Facebook page has not been updated since March 11 and her participation in a marathon in Saga Prefecture on Sunday was withdrawn just before the event.
A letter threatening to harm her was delivered on March 15 to an izakaya Japanese pub that she owns. For this reason, a high-ranking government official said, "We really want her not to make public remarks as much as possible, as she needs to avoid putting herself in harm's way."
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