Monday, January 30, 2023 (Constitution 1000 Stories)

Constitution News #6871: A sightseeing trip called "overseas travel"! We introduce the full text of "Honest Column" by Kihei Maekawa, representative of the Modern Education Administration Research Association!

We quoted "This is the Special Report Department" on page 25 of the morning edition of the Tokyo Shimbun.

Since this column is timely because of the issue, we will introduce the full text of the surprising content.

According to Weekly Shincho, his son, Secretary Shotaro, who accompanied him on a tour of Europe and the United States from the 9th to the 15th of this month, used a government car to sightsee and shop in Paris and London.

This reminded me of the time when I was seconded to the UNESCO Permanent Mission in Paris. During the May holidays, cabinet ministers all come on "overseas trips". After the regular Diet session ends, Diet members come one after another for "inspections". Paris is a popular destination. They make business trips to come to Paris. Even if their destination is another country, they come to Paris as a stopover. Their real purpose is sightseeing and shopping. Diplomats at overseas embassies are busy looking after politicians.

I once took a group of Diet members to a casino in Normandy for three hours by car. After they had a great time, I brought them back to Paris late at night.

A certain Diet member brought his wife on a committee inspection. The couple was busy shopping, ignoring their official schedule. When I took them to a Sèvres tableware store, they were out of stock. The couple then said they might have it at the factory, so I asked them to take me there. When we went to the state-run factory in the suburbs of Paris, they didn't have the product, but we were able to make a reservation to buy it. Then they started asking for a discount.

It seems that the bad custom of politicians and their families using diplomats as free tour conductors is still alive and well.

(Representative of the Modern Education Administration Research Group)

[A word from Iwata: This should stop. Still, I would like to know the names of the terrible politician couples written here.]