Osaka Gov. Ichiro Matsui said Monday he will not approve the opening of an elementary school at the center of a national political scandal involving Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife, Akie.
"The whole project has to be reviewed, and this will take a while, making early approval to start the school physically difficult," Matsui told reporters in the morning.
The final decision is not expected to come until March 23, when the prefectural government's panel on private school approval is scheduled to meet, but Matsui's announcement all but ensures the school will not open in April as scheduled.