Moritomo Gakuen had planned to open a private elementary school on this plot of land in Toyonaka, Osaka Prefecture, previously owned by the government. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Opposition lawmakers accused Finance Ministry officials of breaking the law by refusing to disclose documents about a questionable sale of state-owned land and giving the flimsy excuse that the records did not exist.
At the March 2 Lower House Budget Committee, the opposition Diet members said that lying to avoid releasing public documents violates the information disclosure law.
The questioning regarded records of meetings between officials of the Finance Ministry and Moritomo Gakuen, an educational institution that wanted to buy state-owned land in Toyonaka, Osaka Prefecture, to open a private elementary school.