Government lawyers argued Wednesday that the dismissal of Haruho Fujii as president of Japan Highway Corp. was permissible under rules of the semigovernmental highway construction body.

Fujii, 67, is demanding nullification of his October dismissal by Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Nobuteru Ishihara, who had declared him "unfit" for the job.

Fujii did not appear in the first trial session before the Tokyo District Court Wednesday, and the administrative litigation took place in clerical exchanges between representatives from both sides.

He had filed suit against Ishihara in December, claiming his dismissal was illegal and that the minister's accusation he concealed a financial statement showing the entity had negative net worth was groundless.

Fujii claims that his sacking, which came just before campaigning kicked off for the Lower House general election in November, was politically motivated and that he was not given enough time to prepare for a hearing to fight Ishihara's move.

The government side said the dismissal was legal both in substance and formality.

"Although there was a newspaper report last May that there existed a hidden balance sheet in the entity, the plaintiff made no necessary investigation and did not confirm it until August," the defense said in a statement.

It also said Fujii's inconsistent explanations before the Diet invited criticism that his handling of the case was unfaithful.

"Considering all factors together, we can only say that the plaintiff did not possess the necessary qualifications as president of Japan Highway Corp. at a time when reform was imperative for the entity," it said.

The government lawyers further said that Fujii's dismissal was in accordance with Article 13 of the Japan Highway Corporation Law, which stipulates that the minister can remove executives from their posts if they are deemed unfit for the job.