Democratic Party of Japan Secretary General Yukio Edano said recent accusations that economic and fiscal policy minister Akira Amari took bribes could lead to far more serious consequences than previous setbacks to the Abe administration.
Amari is under fire over a media report that he and his aides accepted money from a construction company in exchange for helping the firm receive compensation for disputes over land ownership and waste removal at a public works site.
Amari, a core member of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's economic policy team who played a central role in negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement, said Friday he has done nothing illegal.