Abe and Aso have come under fresh pressure over the ministry’s admission this week that it had altered documents related to the sale of state-owned land at a steep discount to a school operator with ties to Abe’s wife, Akie. (File pix) This file picture taken on Feb 28, 2017 shows Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (left) and his wife Akie Abe (right) at Tokyo's Haneda Airport. Copies of documents released by the finance ministry on Monday showed that references to Abe, his wife and Aso were removed from the ministry’s records of the sale to school operator Moritomo Gakuen. According to the ministry documents, a comment from Moritomo Gakuen citing Akie Abe as telling him, “This is good land so please proceed,” was removed. Asked about the reference on Wednesday, Abe said: “I checked with my wife and she says she said no such thing.

Source: New Strait Times March 14, 2018 02:26 UTC