The government in December 1999 seized a villa owned by a firm operated by the family of the late Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka, sources said Wednesday.
The seizure came after the family allegedly failed to pay overdue taxes on a 500 million yen bribe Tanaka allegedly received in the 1976 Lockheed payoff scandal, the sources said.
The fact was made known in connection with the mandatory asset report filed Tuesday by Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka, a daughter of the late prime minister.