Tax chief resigns amid controversy

Mar 10, 2018 | News On Japan

Mar 10, 2018 (NHK) - The Japanese government on Friday approved the resignation of Nobuhisa Sagawa as Commissioner of the National Tax Agency after more than a year of controversy over the sale of a plot of state-owned land. Sagawa was in charge of state property at the Finance Ministry until last July.

He became caught up in the scandal relating to the sale of the property by a regional Finance Ministry bureau to private school operator Moritomo Gakuen in Osaka in 2016. The sale price was 7.5 million dollars less than its market value, sparking allegations of cronyism.

After the scandal broke in February last year, Sagawa appeared in the Diet to answer questions about the deal.

He insisted that regional bureau officials did not negotiate a price with Moritomo. The emergence of a voice recording cast doubt on Sagawa's claim.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's wife was initially set to be the honorary principal of an elementary school that Moritomo Gakuen planned to open last April. Abe says neither he nor his wife was involved in the deal.

Last week the scandal was back in the spotlight after a newspaper claimed documents of the sale had been altered. The report alleged some parts of the documents submitted to the Diet last year were different from the originals.

After becoming Tax Agency chief last July, Sagawa did not hold a press briefing, despite numerous requests.

Protests were recently held in front of the National Tax Agency building and in other places to demand Sagawa's resignation.

Source: ANNnewsCH

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