The government will start disclosing documents related to a controversial state land sale to school operator Moritomo Gakuen in a month's time at the earliest, Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato said Tuesday.
Subject to the disclosure are paper documents of 17 pages or more, as well as electronic data, Kato told a parliamentary meeting. Parts of the documents whose exposure might breach the rights of individuals will be redacted, according to Kato.
Kato also said that the government will release documents believed to have been compiled by Toshio Akagi, a former official of the Finance Ministry's Kinki Local Finance Bureau, around early June. Akagi killed himself at the age of 54 after being ordered to tamper with documents regarding the state land sale to Moritomo Gakuen.
"We'll make efforts to disclose major documents as soon as possible within the next year," Kato said.
The widow of Akagi filed a lawsuit against the government over the issue, demanding the disclosure of related documents. In January, Osaka High Court revoked the ministry's decision not to release the documents it voluntarily submitted to prosecutors. The ruling became final after the government decided not to appeal it.
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