The main opposition Democratic Party filed a censure motion Tuesday against regional revitalization minister Kozo Yamamoto, who is in charge of special deregulation zones, in connection with allegations that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may have swayed the approval of a university project in one of the zones.
The motion was expected to be voted down by the ruling coalition in a plenary session of the Upper House on Wednesday.
The education ministry is currently scouring internal files and questioning officials in response to the claim that documents exist implying Abe using undue influence in the decision to approve a new department at a university run by Kake Gakuen, a school chain headed by his close friend Kotaro Kake.