Doctored paper scandal spells more trouble for rattled Abe

A cronyism scandal is damaging the credibility of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Cabinet members. The Japanese finance ministry has admitted that its documents related to the sale of a plot of state-owned land in Osaka prefecture to private school operator Moritomo Gakuen, which the ministry's officials called a "special deal" in the original files, were altered. The edited parts include the names of several politicians and Abe's wife Akie Abe who had visited Moritomo Gakuen several times.

The doctored documents, which were submitted to the country's parliament, have raised Japanese opposition parties' suspicion that Abe or his wife or some government officials had helped Moritomo Gakuen acquire the heavily discounted plot of land.

The revelation of falsified documents is more damaging to the Abe administration than the deal itself which, along with other scandals, caused the public support for Abe to plummet last summer.