The arrest of the former chief of Moritomo Gakuen over suspected fraud in the receipt of government subsidies should not detract attention from the questions regarding the sale of a government-owned tract of land to the Osaka-based school operator at a steep discount. This land sale is at the core of the suspicions surrounding the operator, which boasted of its close ties to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's wife. The government has so far failed to give a convincing account of its discount sale of the plot in Toyonaka, Osaka Prefecture, for the construction of an elementary school — for which Akie Abe had until recently served as honorary principal. Prosecutors should act on a criminal complaint filed over the land transaction and investigate unanswered questions over the deal.

Yasunori Kagoike and his wife Junko were arrested Monday for allegedly defrauding the national government of some ¥56 million in subsidies provided for building the elementary school by inflating its construction cost in contract documents submitted to a land ministry-linked entity last year. Moritomo Gakuen gave up on completing construction of the school, which was scheduled to open in April this year, after final approval by local education authorities was thrown in doubt, and returned the subsidies it had received.

Moritomo Gakuen, which was known for the nationalistic education given at a kindergarten it runs — including having children recite the prewar Imperial Rescript of Education — came under public scrutiny following revelations in February that it had bought the 8,770-sq.-meter plot in Toyonaka in 2016 for ¥134 million, a mere 14 percent of its appraisal value. Political influence was suspected because Akie Abe was listed as honorary principal of the school to be built at the site. Moritomo Gakuen had initially planned to name the school after the prime minister, and had children at its kindergarten cheer for Abe at a sports event. Suspicions over the land deal became politically charged after Abe told the Diet that he would resign as both prime minister and lawmaker if either he, his wife or his office was found to have been involved in the land sale.