The search by the office's special investigation unit started on Monday evening and continued all night into the following morning.

Investigators carried out many boxes containing materials confiscated during the search of Tsukamoto Kindergarten, run by Moritomo Gakuen, and the house of Yasunori Kagoike, the 64-year-old former head of the scandal-tainted school operator.

The kindergarten is in the city of Osaka and the house in the city of Toyonaka, both in the western Japan prefecture of Osaka.

The search began the day after the end of the latest regular parliamentary session, during which debates on the Moritomo scandal were held. The Osaka authorities chose the day apparently to avoid creating an impression that their probe into the case is carried out under political influence.

The search was conducted during nighttime when kindergarten children are away.

Kagoike has been accused of illegally receiving Osaka prefectural government subsidies granted according to the number of teachers and that of children needing special care, including those with disabilities. The sum of the subsidies obtained fraudulently is believed to have reached 61.86 million yen.

He also allegedly received excessive subsidies from the state for Moritomo Gakuen's project to build an elementary school in Toyonaka in violation of the law for ensuring proper subsidy payment. (Jiji Press)