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               

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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.