Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks on reports of the launch of a North Korean missile to reporters , at his official residence in Tokyo, Japan May 29, 2017. (Reuters)
TOKYO – Japan's education minister says he will launch a new investigation into a scandal involving Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, focusing on whether the documents implicating him in pressuring bureaucrats for preferential treatment are authentic.
The Kake Educational Institution is run by an Abe friend and was seeking approval for a veterinary school. The documents in question are communications among government ministries and some allegedly indicate Abe's office pressured the ministries for approval.
Abe and other top officials have repeatedly denied the allegation and have questioned the authenticity of the documents.
The scandal is the second alleging that Abe or people close to him sought to influence openings of new schools.
Friday's reversal from the education minister is seen as a result of growing public outrage.
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