Key figure in land deal scandal to testify

Mar 27, 2018 | News On Japan

Mar 27, 2018 (NHK) - A key figure in a document-tampering scandal involving the Finance Ministry is set to give sworn testimony at the Diet on Tuesday.

Former tax agency chief Nobuhisa Sagawa will appear before the budget committees of both chambers. He was in charge of the ministry's financial bureau that submitted the doctored documents.

The documents are related to the discounted sale of state-owned land to a school operator, Moritomo Gakuen, in 2016.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's wife was initially set to be the honorary principal of a new school on the land, sparking allegations of favoritism.

Sagawa's testimony is expected to shed light on who ordered the documents to be altered; to what extent the ministry was involved; and whether Abe, his wife Akie, and other politicians exerted an influence on the tampering and the land sale.

Abe said on Monday in an executive meeting of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party that his government will cooperate with prosecutors and push for a thorough investigation.

The ruling coalition hopes to put the scandal behind it by pressing ahead with the probe and taking steps to prevent similar incidents from recurring.

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