Education board chief in Oita apologizes for corruption

Saturday 12th July, 06:43 AM JST

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Latest 15 of 22 Total Comments Show All

DenshaDeGO at 09:38 AM JST - 12th July

They haven't hanged themselves. Guess they don't really feel that bad.
wilbur at 09:56 AM JST - 12th July

and as usual in japan, no mention of giving any money back
GW at 11:28 AM JST - 12th July

No doubt our "defenders of japan" will here shortly to tell us that this is all just japanese culture! Ha ha ha.

WMD

Well the truth is this is indeed an integral part of J-culture, bribing, kick backs, slush funds are all very much a part of the local culture for sure.

And as others have alluded to, we will soon be hearing this is happening country wide. The main reasons japan is so expensive & value for money is so low is to pay for all the institutional bribery!!
timorborder at 12:05 PM JST - 12th July

I wonder if the applicants (the young people taking the tests) were also in on this with their parents? This little drama shows them in a very bad light. If they are not sacked, resign or retired, they will for ever be known as "the teachers" whose parents bribed them into their jobs. Let's face it, the acts of their parents has undermined any authority they might have as teachers, both now and in the future. Moreover, as a parent, who would want your kids taught "ethics" by such people.
borscht at 01:55 PM JST - 12th July

Wouldn't we all bribe officials to assure that our children succeed if we knew the officials were open to bribes? I mean, it beats being a kyoiku-parent, doesn't it?
toolongheremaybe at 02:15 PM JST - 12th July

Borscht. Some would but there are many people who still wouldn't. I wouldn't.

GW, Well said! Most scandals that happen just prove to be the tip of the iceberg. The interesting thing is finding out why it all was made public. And many of the so called scandals like this are common knowledge to people involved. It's just when it gets out that everyone acts so surprised and people start bowing and crying and saying how remorseful they are.

Outofmydepth, Actually, this may be hard to swallow, but yes, its better not to trust people in Japan when they might have a reason for not being honest. Like whenever there is money involved. Japanese like to say they are more honest than other Asians but they aren't - they just do worse but with a lot of beautifully flowery language and bowing.

Lipscombe - that gave me a laugh!
browny1 at 03:47 PM JST - 12th July

Until this story surfaced I naively believed such levels of corruption would be more suitably akin to the fat-ones - bureaucrats and their dogs - and am truly dismayed by all of this.

Unfortunately it adds fuel to the " Just another day " self-constricting dilemma in which Japan finds itself.

Reaping what ye sow and all of that.
realist at 04:09 PM JST - 12th July

Nothing new here - bribery and corruption is a way of life in Beautiful Nippon. We all know this happenes, everywhere in japan, every sngle day. Japan is built on "kone" (connections) and it si not a matter of what you know, but who you know. No wonder this socirty is falling apart at the seams.
KyouNoNippon at 09:53 AM JST - 13th July

This will end in an apology, and the 15 people who passed the test but were failed due to corruption will never know they passed because the tests have already been destroyed. This leaves a state of about 400 people who failed officially, but each one has to go through everyday now thinking, "Maybe I passed." That has to be difficult.

Because the tests were destroyed they do know they will never be vindicated. That is even more difficult.
Starviking at 11:55 AM JST - 13th July

Happens in City Halls too. A mayor in Yamagata-ken was arrested for taking bribes for City Hall jobs a few years ago...
WMD at 09:18 PM JST - 13th July

Now all the kids can say to teachers they don't like or incompetent teachers "How much did you pay for your teacher's license?"
Molenir at 06:08 AM JST - 14th July

So, the senior education official who accepted the bribes... He's under indictment too right? I mean its one thing to offer a bribe. Thats despicable. But to me, whats much worse, is accepting it.
asdfghjkl at 09:33 AM JST - 14th July

If they are going to spend that much money bribing, save it and send them to a good school and university abroad.
dennis0bauer at 03:14 PM JST - 14th July

ah the good old japanese apologation scheme, one takes the blame and nothing changes
HonestDictator at 03:48 AM JST - 15th July

Actions are stronger than words... fix the moral instability in Japan and the country just might become stronger instead of a paper mache statue.

Bribes happen, but depending on which country you're in it may happen more or less depending on how much people not only respect others, but how much they respect themselves.