Prosecutors raided the Defense Agency on Monday on suspicion that the agency destroyed documents relevant to a procurement billing scandal in an attempted coverup.
The Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office suspects that a number of documents were systematically destroyed under the instruction of senior officials at the agency's Central Procurement Office before the first raid Sept. 3, investigative sources said.
Prosecutors have also begun questioning two Central Procurement Office officials in connection with the case, the sources said. This case is exceptional in that a government body is being suspected of destroying evidence.