Japan PM’s office knew of land-deal documents problems
JAPANESE Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s office was aware in early March of potential problems with documents about a controversial land sale to a school operator with ties to his wife, his top spokesman said on Thursday, amid suspicions of a cover-up.
Mr Abe and Finance Minister Taro Aso have faced fire since the finance ministry’s admission this week that it had altered records involved in the discounted sale of land to the school operator.
The affair has sparked calls for Mr Aso to quit and could dash Mr Abe’s chances of securing another three-year term from September, when the ruling party will hold a leadership election.
Mr Abe has denied wrongdoing by himself or his wife Akie, while Mr Aso has denied he instructed changes to the records.
References to Mr Abe, his wife, and Mr Aso were removed from the finance ministry’s records of the sale, copies of documents released by the ministry showed.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the land ministry had told his deputy last Sunday about possible gaps between documents in its possession and materials the finance ministry had previously submitted to parliament.
Mr Suga himself was told last Monday and thought that his deputy told Mr Abe about the matter the same day, he told reporters.
Last Wednesday, the finance ministry submitted copies of what it later acknowledged were altered documents.
Asked why he had not made the land ministry’s concerns public, Mr Suga said, “It was not a stage where we could confirm the documents.”
He did not see a problem with how the premier’s office handled the matter, he added.
Opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan senior lawmaker Seiji Osaka blasted Mr Suga’s explanation.
“This is complete sophistry and a desecration of parliament,” he said.
The scandal has paralysed parliamentary proceeding and even some in the ruling party are calling for Mr Aso to resign.
“To draw a line under the situation, it’s obvious he should step down as a person who holds the highest responsibility of the finance ministry,” former ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Taku Yamazaki told the Nikkei daily on Wednesday.
Mr Aso has rejected the calls to quit and said responsibility for the land sale lay with Nobuhisa Sagawa, who stepped down as tax chief last Friday.
Mr Sagawa headed the finance ministry division that submitted the documents before he became tax agency chief in July.