Osaka –

The Osaka High Court on Thursday revoked the Finance Ministry's decision not to disclose documents related to a document-tampering scandal that led to the suicide of a ministry official.

Presiding Judge Kenji Maki overturned an Osaka District Court ruling that dismissed a petition by Masako Akagi, the widow of the late ministry official, Toshio, to nullify the ministry decision.

Akagi argued that it was illegal for the ministry not to disclose administrative documents it had voluntarily submitted to prosecutors regarding the scandal related to the discount sale of state land to school operator Moritomo Gakuen, once linked to Akie Abe, the widow of the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

The ministry decided the nondisclosure policy even without clarifying whether such documents existed, saying that public disclosure would impede investigations. The district court found the decision legal.

The Osaka High Court said that "it cannot be said that making information (about the documents) public could have hampered investigations into this case," noting that the petition was filed in August 2021 after the probes concluded in August 2019.

As prosecutors are not aware of what documents the Finance Ministry possesses, it is up to the ministry to decide which documents to submit, the court said.

The intentions of investigations are not necessarily revealed even if it becomes widely known what documents were submitted by the ministry, so "it is difficult to believe that highly confidential information can be inferred" as a result of the disclosure, it concluded.

The government's Information Disclosure and Personal Information Protection Review Board said last March that the ministry should revoke its decision not to disclose the documents. But the ministry decided against disclosure again in May the same year.

Speaking to reporters after Thursday's ruling, Akagi said, "I feel the struggle I had up to now has paid off."

She urged the ministry to release documents that would make clear why her late husband had to tamper with documents as ordered by his then-seniors.

The ministry released a statement Thursday expressing condolences for the deceased official and saying that it will consider future actions after assessing the details of the ruling.

[bio]If you or someone you know is in crisis and needs help, resources are available. In case of an emergency, please call 119 in Japan for immediate assistance. The TELL Lifeline is available for those who need free and anonymous counseling at 03-5774-0992. You can also visit telljp.com. For those in other countries, visit www.suicide.org/international-suicide-hotlines.html for a detailed list of resources and assistance.[bio]