The Finance Ministry's ongoing in-house investigation of wining and dining will also include officials rumored to have been excessively entertained by financial firms, Finance Minister Hikaru Matsunaga indicated March 9, adding that he plans to become more involved.
Speaking before the day's session of the House of Representatives Budget Committee, which held intensive deliberations on economic and financial affairs, Matsunaga again apologized for the two latest arrests of officials at the scandal-swept ministry.
"We will cooperate fully with investigators, but it is said that there are others (who were wined and dined), and those cases must also be included in the in-house investigation, with strict action taken, if we are to restore public trust in the Finance Ministry," he said.