Bizarre 'Abegate' affair due to climax in Parliament this week

Tokyo

SOMETHING is "cooking" at the top of Japanese politics and it could come to the boil on Thursday when the principal of an Osaka School at the centre of a dubious land deal is due to testify to the country's Parliament on the alleged involvement of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife Akie with the school.

The affair, centering on the sale of government land to Moritomo Gakuen elementary school at a deeply discounted price, and on alleged donations by Mr Abe and his wife to the controversial "nationalist" school, could turn into the biggest political challenge to date for the prime minister.