Parents of former pupils of an ultra-nationalist Japanese kindergarten at the centre of a political scandal have asked authorities to investigate its operator over claims of hate speech toward ethnic minorities and the borderline abuse of children.The parents have asked the prefectural government in Osaka, where Moritomo Gakuen kindergarten is based, to look into claims that it “often does things to the children that verge on abuse, and uses discriminatory language toward Chinese people and others in its newsletters”, Kyodo news reported on Wednesday.The nature of the alleged abuse was not immediately clear.The private kindergarten has attracted daily media coverage in recent weeks over a land deal and its relationship with the prime minister, Shinzo Abe, his wife and prominent politicians who support its conservative education ethos.(the guardian)…[+]