KOBE Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Saturday that he wants to create more veterinary schools nationwide, saying that his governments recent decision to approve just one the first in the past 52 years had stirred doubts about the credibility of the process.

We dont have to limit it to the city of Imabari (Ehime Prefecture). We will quickly seek a nationwide move, Abe said.

Abes suggestion came as criticism grows over the opaque process by the education ministry to greenlight a plan for a new veterinary school run by Kake Gakuen (Kake Educational Institution), operated by a close friend of his, in a national strategic special deregulation zone in Imabari, Ehime Prefecture.

No new university veterinary medicine faculty has been established in Japan in over half a century because the government rejects opening them due to strong opposition from the Japan Veterinary Medical Association, which says that enough already exist.

Deregulation in this area should be promoted nationwide, Abe said in the speech in Kobe. The government will permit the opening of such faculties by any willing university, and not limit it to Imabari, Abe said.

The public support rate for Abes Cabinet has dropped sharply recently over public dissatisfaction with his teams explanations about the Kake Gakuen affair, in which he is suspected of influencing the approval process.

In his speech Saturday, Abe again denied any wrongdoing over the matter, saying the process was clear and serene.

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Reacting to Kake scandal, Abe now urges even more new animal medicine departments - The Japan Times