Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Iwao Uruma stressed Monday he does not recall saying the scandal over alleged illicit political donations from Nishimatsu Construction Co. would not implicate lawmakers of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
But he added that whatever comments he made were off the record and may have been misinterpreted.
"I don't think I made statements that would deny the neutrality or fairness of the prosecutors' investigation by pointing out the tendency of investigations over a specific political party's lawmakers," Uruma told the Upper House Budget Committee. "But I don't know how the reporters perceived my statements."