TOKYO The head of a Japanese school at the heart of a political scandal received a donation of 1 million yen ($8,980) from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s wife in 2015, he told parliament in sworn testimony on Thursday.
“It was an honour so I clearly remember,” said Yasunori Kagoike, adding that he received the donation in an envelope from the first lady, Akie Abe.
The prime minister has denied that Akie donated 1 million yen to the school on his behalf.
The prime minister also has said neither he nor his wife intervened in a sweetheart land deal in which the educational group Moritomo Gakuen bought state-owned land at a fraction of its appraisal price to build an elementary school.
(Reporting by Chris Gallagher; Editing by Joseph Radford)
