Former Moritomo Gakuen President Yasunori Kagoike was freed on bail Friday, about 10 months after he and his wife were arrested on suspicion of fraud, and challenged Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to "tell the truth fair and square" about the favoritism scandal surrounding a shady land purchase in Osaka.

The couple were freed after the Osaka District Court rejected a complaint by the Osaka District Public Prosecutor's Office against its decision Wednesday to let Kagoike, 65, and his wife, Junko, 61, out on bail.

The couple entered the spotlight after Moritomo Gakuen bought a plot of state land at a steep discount in Osaka to build a nationalist elementary school at which Abe's wife, Akie, was named honorary principal.