In its Tuesday morning edition, the Asahi Shimbun daily reported that the Ehime prefectural government produced a document on an April 2, 2015, meeting between Tadao Yanase, then executive secretary to Abe, and officials of the prefectural and Imabari city governments at the prime minister's office in Tokyo.
In the document, dated April 13, 2015, Yanase, currently vice minister for international affairs at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, is quoted as saying that the plan to open the school in a national strategic special zone in the western Japan city was a "prime minister-related matter."
Yanase issued a statement on Tuesday denying that he made such a remark. "I've never met with officials of Ehime Prefecture or Imabari as far as I can remember," he also said, as he did during a parliamentary meeting in July last year.
But later in the day, Ehime Governor Tokihiro Nakamura admitted at a press conference in Matsuyama, the capital of Ehime, that the reported document is a note made by a prefectural official who attended the meeting in question.
News On Japan - Nov 26
Panicked passengers on a Shinkansen bullet train were evacuated at a central Japan station on Friday night, after a plastic bag containing suspicious liquid was found onboard.
News On Japan - Nov 26
A 29-year-old man has been arrested for meeting an underage teen girl, with sexual intent, after sending her messages, promising to make her "the happiest in the world".
News On Japan - Nov 25
Inui Street, the famed autumn walk within the Imperial Palace in central Tokyo, opened to the public from Saturday.
News On Japan - Nov 25
Nissan Motor Corporation has announced plans to transition all its vehicles produced in the United Kingdom to electric vehicles (EVs).
News On Japan - Nov 25
A JR West Japan train conductor has been arrested for secretly filming eight women in the toilet of the express train "Haruka" while on duty.
News On Japan - Nov 25
Tofukuji Temple, home to 2,000 maple trees and renowned as one of Kyoto's premier autumn hotspots, features the Tsutenkyo Bridge, and the breathtaking 'sea of autumn leaves'.
News On Japan - Nov 25
The strongest cold snap of the season has brought a dramatic drop in temperatures to northern Japan, where snow began falling Friday morning, with up to 50 cm expected in Hokkaido and Tohoku by Saturday evening, and a chance of blizzards.
News On Japan - Nov 24
It's Shichi-Go-San, the Japanese festival season for celebrating the healthy growth of children, with Aibo the robot dog giving prayer at a shrine in Fukuoka, on Friday.