Over the weekend and again on Monday, new developments in the 'school land sale' scandal

For background ...

This from around a year ago:

  • An educator accused of using his political clout to curry favor with Japanese politicians, including the first family ... Yasunori Kagoike ... his Moritomo Gakuen group purchased land from the government at one-seventh the price of the plot's assessed value, according to a public copy of the land sale.
  • The land was bought to build a school. parliament is now looking into whether Kagoike, who has been accused of promoting extreme nationalist views, used his connections with some right-leaning politicians -- including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe -- to secure a discount for Moritomo Gakuen, which runs schools in Japan, when the land was bought in June.

Then over the weekend just past:

  • Japan's Finance Ministry to admit to the Diet on Monday that alterations were made to documents on a controversial state land deal

On Monday in Asia:

Japan's Finance Ministry admits a total of 14 Moritomo documents were forged

  • admits it forged the documents
  • forgery occurred around February 2017
  • First Lady Akie Abe's name was reportedly in the original Finance Ministry documents, but was removed in the forgery

Japan's finance minister Aso confirms documents were altered

  • Apologises for ministry's involvement in the alteration
  • Says that alterations in the land sale documents were extremely regrettable
  • To fully cooperate with the probe
  • Some ministry staff ordered alteration of documents
  • Entire investigation isn't complete yet
  • No intention to resign
  • Says that former tax agency chief Sagawa was ultimately responsible
  • Will not let this kind of thing happen again (hmm, what about the other stuff that has already happened?)
  • Says that alterations weren't aimed at protecting Abe or Abe's wife

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So, now awaiting developments out of Japan today. On Monday the news was yen supportive.

The scandal has seen Abe take a hit on his approval rating. If the kerfuffle continues, speculation could gain of a challenge to Abe's authority at the ruling party (LDP) leadership election in September.