Ministry unable to check alleged document alterations

March 6, 2018

Tokyo- Japan's Finance Ministry said Tuesday that it cannot check whether it altered documents on a controversial sale of state-owned land to private school operator Moritomo Gakuen.

The ministry "cannot immediately examine all of the documents" under suspicion, as they are subject to an ongoing investigation following a criminal complaint filed with public prosecutors, said Kazushige Tomiyama, deputy director-general of the ministry's Financial Bureau.

The ministry hopes to conduct an internal probe in the future, including over whether the altered documents exist, Tomiyama also told a board meeting of the Budget Committee of the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of parliament.

A Japanese newspaper report said Friday that documents prepared by the ministry between 2015 and 2016 about the heavily discounted land sale and their copies shown to lawmakers later have differences in content.

In response, the ministry promised to carry out an investigation and report the results by Tuesday. But at the committee board meeting, it did not make clear whether the altered documents exist.

This drew strong criticism from opposition parties, causing the board to go into recess.

During the recess, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the major opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan held meetings of their Diet affairs chiefs.

The CDPJ told the LDP that it would refuse to attend Budget Committee meetings on the fiscal 2018 draft budget and related bills.

In the board meeting, Tomiyama submitted a report on the alleged alterations.

The Osaka District Public Prosecutors Office is investigating the land deal based on allegations of breach of trust, destruction of evidence and damaging of documents for government use, the report said.

The ministry will check documents and interview employees while taking care not to affect the criminal investigation, the report also said.

At a press conference, Finance Minister Taro Aso declined to answer a question on his responsibility, saying that details are still far from clear.

LDP Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai complained that the ministry's response to the matter will hinder Diet deliberations. Jiji Press