Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori on Wednesday dismissed demands from the opposition that an investigation be launched into allegations that Hidenao Nakagawa, his former chief Cabinet secretary, leaked police information to warn his alleged mistress that she was going to be the target of a drugs bust.
"It would be very dangerous if I was able to issue a specific instruction to police to investigate" Nakagawa's case, Mori said, suggesting that the prime minister should not intervene in police operations.
He made the remark in a one-on-one debate with Yukio Hatoyama, head of the Democratic Party of Japan, in the day's Upper House session.