Japan's Finance Minister Taro Aso has taken a voluntary one-year salary cut after 20 officials were penalized for tampering with documents related to a government property sale linked to the Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's wife. The Finance Ministry has acknowledged tampering with hundreds of pages of documents related to the 2016 land sale to a school where Akie Abe briefly held an honorary position. Aso apologized Monday over the tampering by lower level officials and resulting damage to public trust, but said Akie Abe was not directly involved. "I would like to do my best to fulfill my duty as the finance minister," Aso said. There are allegations Akie Abe's influence might have enabled Moritomo to get favorable treatment for a planned new private elementary school.

Source: ABC News June 04, 2018 07:25 UTC