Overview
- Kinuko Iwamoto, 79, pleaded not guilty at her initial hearing in Tokyo District Court and said she never took payments or acted to harm the university.
- Prosecutors said Iwamoto proposed adviser fees equal to about 0.7–1% of construction costs and that the payments produced roughly ¥280–¥283 million in loss to the school.
- The prosecution alleges about ¥87 million of those fees was returned to Iwamoto via former deputy manager Hiromi Mori, a claim the defense strongly rejects.
- Two co-defendants, architect Noriyoshi Matsumaru and Mori, admitted the charges at their February trials, creating a factual split the court must now resolve.
- The case grew from a March 2023 alumni complaint and a university third‑party probe in August 2024 that found suspicious links, and its outcome could affect university governance and donor trust.