Most people believe politicians lie, though the reflexive skepticism with which the current U.S. president’s pronouncements are met is probably exceptional. The secret to successful lying is to never admit to it in the slightest way.

That rule of thumb has been challenged by a development in the neverending scandal associated with an Ehime Prefecture veterinary school the government approved last year. The school is run by Kake Gakuen, a company whose chairman, Kotaro Kake, is suspected of having used his friendship with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to get the school opened. Both men insist their relationship had no impact on Kake’s approval, but then, in May, officials of Ehime Prefecture said that an employee of Kake Gakuen told them prior to their acceptance of the school that Abe had discussed the matter with Kake in a meeting that took place on Feb. 25, 2015. Abe, however, claims he only learned about the project in January 2017.

The school official, Yoshihito Watanabe, then backtracked and said there was no meeting and that he lied to Ehime officials, without really explaining why (something about his “mood” at the moment). As Masao Yora pointed out in his May 30 Mainichi Shimbun column, Watanabe’s confession set up an interesting conundrum. He admits to lying and yet the general feeling, at least among the press, is that he is lying about the lie. In order to protect his boss and the prime minister, he falls on his sword, hoping that by doing so the scandal will finally draw to a close.