Abe.official documents and a very large shredder

The Washington Post

The strange tale of Japan’s prime minister, official documents and a very large shredder

November 27, 2019 at 8:13 p.m. GMT+9
TOKYO ― The guest list for a controversial state-funded party? Shredded.
Lists of visitors to the prime minister’s office? Shredded.
Journals showing the dangers encountered by Japan’s Self-Defense Forces on duty in Sudan and Iraq? Initially said to have been shredded, although they were later rediscovered.
Important papers relating to a school scandal that threatened to bring down the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe? Some falsified, some shredded.
The Abe administration’s secretive approach to government papers ― and an industrial-size shredder that can dispose of 1,000 pages of official documents in a single load ― are dominating the headlines in Japan this week, as the opposition and media cry foul.

Abe became Japan’s longest-serving prime minister last week, but his approval ratings are falling on accusations that he used an annual state-funded party over the cherry blossom season to invite hundreds of his supporters and cronies.
On Monday, a group of opposition politicians tried unsuccessfully to gain access to the Cabinet Office to see a massive shredder, reportedly the Nakabayashi NSC-7510 Mark III, that has become the symbol of government coverup in Japan.