Japan finance ministry confirms death of official in scandal
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Japan's finance ministry has confirmed the death of an official linked to a scandal potentially involving Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's wife.
Ministry officials acknowledged the employee's death at a parliamentary hearing Friday, but refused to give details. Local media reported the death as a suicide.
Local media reports said the official was involved in the questionable 2016 sale of state land to an ultra-nationalistic school at one-seventh of its appraised price. During the time of the deal, Abe's wife was the honorary school principal.
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Abe and finance officials have denied wrongdoing, though the scandal recently caused parliamentary sessions to grind to a halt.
Separate media reports said the tax agency chief who previously worked on the land deal has expressed his intention to resign. The agency refused to confirm that.