Khaldon Azhari

TOKYO: KOJIMA Toshiro, a lawyer, and bureaucrat who once worked for Tokyo Governor KOIKE Yuriko, has repeatedly accused the Governor of faking her Cairo University credentials but has failed to provide any proof of such a deception.

The university and the Egyptian Embassy in Tokyo have both confirmed that Koike graduated from Cairo University in 1976. Kojima now appears to deny accusing these institutions of being complicit in a fraud.

When asked directly after a press conference he held to denounce Koike’s credentials, “Are you officially accusing Cairo University and the Egyptian Embassy of covering up the falsification of Koike’s graduation certificate?” Kojima answered, “No.”

This, according to a legal source who read Kojima’s initial remarks, shows that Kojima is not consistent, which reduces his allegations to nothing more than gossip and unverified accusations without any validity based on evidence.

Kojima seems intent on spreading accusations without credible proof although he is a lawyer. Accusations without any proof could constitute defamation.

Cairo University, which is a government university, and the Egyptian government have vouched for Koike and confirmed her graduation. So, Kojima could be damaging the reputation of the Egyptian government and interfering in Japan-Egypt relations. 

If Kojima’s accusations are true, he must demonstrate how the cheating occurred.  Part of what he is saying seems to implicate the university and the embassy. But merely throwing out accusations does not prove the case and implies that the other parties are lying, serious accusations both in the academic world and the diplomatic world.

An alternative scenario is that Cairo University believes Koike graduated but only managed it through underhand means, such as bribery. Again, Kojima must prove both that she did these things, and that the government did not know. So far, he has failed to do so.

Kojima’s own involvement could also be questioned. He was previously employed by Koike and says he advised her when she wanted to get verification of her graduation. He admits that Cairo complied with her request but now asserts that there is doubt about the integrity of Cairo University. What’s his motivation for such accusations?

According to the legal expert, it is not at all clear if any rules were violated to secure Ms. Koike’s verification of graduation. There is nothing but inuendo and rumors, with Kojima never quite saying what wrong was done or who did it. 

“At the very least, Ms. Koike is entitled to a presumption of innocence in the matter,” he said.

Kojima’s attacks on Koike seem to emerge around election time. Some Japanese media reports have suggested that Koike could run in a parliamentary by-election and return to national politics. In the past, she has expressed an interest in becoming the first female prime minister of Japan.