In a revelation that could have dramatic implications for the Abe administration, the Finance Ministry admitted Monday to making dozens of deletions to 14 documents related to the shady 2016 sale of state land to nationalist school operator Moritomo Gakuen between late February 2017 and April the same year, weeks after the heavily discounted sale was first reported.
The deleted sections include the names of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife, including passages that said the head of Moritomo Gakuen at the time, Yasunori Kagoike, mentioned Akie Abe during talks with the ministry on April 28, 2014.
During an April 25, 2014, meeting with Kagoike, the first lady was quoted as saying "this is a good land plot and please promote" its plan to build an elementary school, according to a 80-page report the ministry submitted to the Diet on Monday.