Current location:business >>
VOX POPULI: LDP lawmakers’ remarks about political funds create a paradox
business4585People have gathered around
IntroductionThere exists a famous paradox involving a Cretan who claims, “Cretans always lie.”If we assume this ...
There exists a famous paradox involving a Cretan who claims, “Cretans always lie.”
If we assume this statement to be true, it implies that the speaker, being a Cretan, must also always lie.
Consequently, the statement “Cretans always lie” cannot be true, creating a contradiction with the initial assumption.
I remember hearing this paradox in junior high school and being utterly confused by it.
Now, let us shift our focus from the Cretan’s statement to the statements of certain lawmakers, who are often called “sensei,” and assume they are true.
Senior members of the Liberal Democratic Party’s faction once led by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe uniformly made a claim at a recent session of the Lower House Deliberative Council on Political Ethics.
They claimed they were not aware that so-called “kanpukin” funds--part of the money raised for the faction through fund-raising parties that exceeded the quota of individual politicians and was returned to them--were not declared in the political fund income and expenditure reports.
The Abe faction members said they believed everything was being properly handled.
In 2022, it seems, they apparently paid no attention to the words of then faction Chairman Shinzo Abe about this matter.
At the time, Abe reportedly decided to stop the practice of refunds, calling it an “opaque" scheme that could “raise doubts.”
It’s hard to imagine that these politicians did not ask Abe what he meant by “opaque” given that the boss’s decision would reduce the political funds they desperately wanted.
Subsequently, the faction’s policy concerning this matter flipped back to continuing the dubious practice.
If these politicians still claim they were unaware that the funds were not being duly reported, that would mean all the blame falls on the faction’s clerical staff responsible for accounting.
If the politicians are telling the truth, it means that despite knowing the practice to be illegal, such staff kept completely silent, informing none of these senior members of the faction.
However, this whole scenario seems implausible.
Instead, it seems likely the initial assumption that the faction leaders told the truth at the council session is incorrect.
The statements of these sensei lawmakers lead to contradictions.
Far from dispelling political distrust, it seems their remarks have only deepened the feeling.
Are Cretans always liars?
We can enjoy such a paradox because it is an intriguing play on logic.
Politicians’ claims, however, are part of the real world.
We cannot afford to be merely bewildered by their words.
--The Asahi Shimbun, March 3
* *
*Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
Tags:
Reprint:Friends are welcome to share on the Internet, but please indicate the source of the article when reprinting it.“International Interactions news portal”。http://algeria.whetstonetavern.com/article-04e199988.html
Related articles
Andy Ibáñez homers twice, Ryan Vilade gets first MLB hit, RBIs as Tigers outslug Guardians 11
businessCLEVELAND (AP) — Andy Ibáñez homered his first two times up and drove in four runs and Ryan Vilade g ...
【business】
Read moreIndigenous deaths in custody haunt Australia
businessBy Hannah Ritchie, BBC News, SydneyA coroner's findings into Steven Nixon-McKellar's death will soon ...
【business】
Read moreWellington workforce reeling from public service job cuts
businessRecruitment agency The Johnson Group says it is quieter in the capital now than during the height of ...
【business】
Read more
Popular articles
- China's Lin dashes Fan's title defense hopes at ITTF World Cup
- Alicudi: Italian island offers goats up for adoption
- US Treasury Secretary explains her 'magic mushroom' experience in China
- South China Sea: US accuses China of 'risky' fighter jet intercepts
- Badosa shows signs of her old form in a win over Andreeva at the Italian Open
- Israeli military says troops captured hundreds of fighters in Gaza hospital
Latest articles
Boy Scouts of America changing name to more inclusive Scouting America after years of woes
Changes to tenancy laws to come into force next year
Gazans return to scenes of devastation in Khan Younis
Arrest made in NSW fatal hit
China moves to improve critical care medical services
3 Body Problem: Lawyer sentenced to death for Lin Qi murder
LINKS
- Good News: Stories that cheered us up for the week of 25
- Port of Auckland workers protest mayor's long
- EDITORIAL: Here we go again; another pledge by LDP to reform itself
- Ruby Franke: Parenting advice YouTuber given maximum sentence for child abuse
- Government cuts will hit Pasifika communities hard
- Ruby Franke: Parenting advice YouTuber given maximum sentence for child abuse
- Politics updates: Kāinga Ora crackdown, changes to plug
- US cautions after Hawaii neighbour Kiribati gets Chinese police
- Government cuts will hit Pasifika communities hard
- Taylor Swift's father Scott Swift allegedly punched Sydney paparazzo in face