Is the wife of a prime minister a public official who should be subject to legislative rules and bureaucratic regulations on her activities, or a private citizen who shouldn't be held accountable over the political impact of her activities?
As the land deal scandal involving Osaka-based Moritomo Gakuen, a nationalist private educational entity, drags on, debate continues in the Diet after speeches at the controversial school were given by Akie Abe, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's wife, during visits in 2014 and 2015.
She came under fire not only for giving two speeches in which she praised the school's educational philosophy, known for its nationalist ideology, but also for allowing her name to be used as honorary principal of a new elementary school that is now at the center of the scandal.