A public spat involving Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka, senior officials at her ministry and Liberal Democratic Party colleagues has shown no sign of abating, with the minister sticking to her position even as tears welled in her eyes.
The row involves whether Muneo Suzuki, one of the LDP's powerful old guard politicians, pressured the Foreign Ministry to bar two nongovernmental organizations from attending an international conference held in Tokyo last week to discuss aid to Afghanistan.
The NGOs said Jan. 20 that they were told by ministry officials that their applications to attend the conference could not be accepted because they were uncooperative, and that an LDP lawmaker with strong influence on the ministry was unhappy with remarks made by Kensuke Onishi, the leader of the groups.