The Finance Ministry should loosen its grip on and refrain from using World Bank scholarships designed to give people in developing countries chances to study abroad, Taro Kono, a House of Representatives member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said Wednesday.

Among developed countries, only Japan has been taking from the scholarship fund in recent years, and the majority of the scholarships have been used to sponsor officials from the Finance Ministry, Kono said.

Of the 75 Japanese who received World Bank scholarships up to last year, 47 were ministry officials, while most of the rest were members of organizations closely tied to the ministry, he said.