Lies exposed, ministry officials admit to hiding Moritomo data : The Asahi Shimbun
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Akagi file shows bureau chief ordered data falsification : The Asahi Shimbun
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Masako Akagi shows photos of her late husband, Toshio, in an interview. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
The government plans to admit to the existence of a file compiled by a Finance Ministry official who killed himself after being ordered to falsify data. But whether the contents of the document are released in a lawsuit filed by his widow is another matter.
Masako Akagi, 50, whose husband, Toshio, committed suicide in March 2018, is seeking a total of about 112 million yen ($1 million) in compensation from the central government and Nobuhisa Sagawa, who was director-general of the Finance Ministry’s Financial Bureau when the falsification orders were given.
Moritomo Gakuen had planned to open a private elementary school on this plot of land in Toyonaka, Osaka Prefecture, previously owned by the government. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Opposition lawmakers accused Finance Ministry officials of breaking the law by refusing to disclose documents about a questionable sale of state-owned land and giving the flimsy excuse that the records did not exist.
At the March 2 Lower House Budget Committee, the opposition Diet members said that lying to avoid releasing public documents violates the information disclosure law.
The questioning regarded records of meetings between officials of the Finance Ministry and Moritomo Gakuen, an educational institution that wanted to buy state-owned land in Toyonaka, Osaka Prefecture, to open a private elementary school.