Opposition lawmakers on Tuesday questioned Chieko Noono's credentials to be justice minister after she repeatedly gave contradictory statements over a political funding scandal.

When asked during a session of the House of Representatives Budget Committee if she had been debriefed about a prosecutors' investigation into a donation scandal involving Liberal Democratic Party heavyweights and the Japan Dental Association, Noono initially declined to comment.

She then changed her mind and said she had been briefed by ministry officials, but could not discuss what she was told.