TOKYO, March 17 (Xinhua) -- The secretaries general and Diet affairs chiefs of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic and Komeito parties agreed Friday to summon the head of a scandal-hit school operator to give sworn testimony in both chambers of parliament next Thursday.
Yasunori Kagoike, the president of scandal-hit Moritomo Gakuen in Osaka Prefecture, said a day earlier that he had received a donation from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for an elementary school to be built on a plot of land he bought from the government at a substantially reduced price.
Kagoike's sworn testimony in the upper and lower house budget committee sessions will focus on claims of Abe's donation, which have been refuted by the prime minister as well as the nature of the cut-price land deal and the politicians involved.
Moritomo Gakuen intended to open a new elementary school next month on the plot of land, but has since withdrawn its application as the scandal has unfolded.
The school was to be named after the prime minister whose name was allegedly used to raise funds for the school, according to its operator.
Abe's wife, Akie, who has given several speeches at a controversy-hit kindergarten central to ongoing scandals involving hate speech and child abuse and also run by Moritomo Gakuen, has since stepped down as the would-be school's honorary principal.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said earlier Friday that Abe's office has checked its records to see if Akie or any third parties connected to the prime minister had made any donations in an individual capacity to the school or its operator.
Suga said that Abe himself has already confirmed that he has not made any donations to the school.
But opposition parties have been increasingly scrutinizing the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's ties to Moritomo Gakuen, particularly following Akie's former ties with the operator.
Kagoike claimed on Thursday that Akie gave him 1 million yen (8,800 U.S. dollars) on behalf of the prime minister in September 2015 following a speech she gave at the kindergarten.
Defense Minister Tomomi Inada has also been linked to the school and has come under fire in parliament for lying about her ties to the operator, with call mounting for her to resign.
She denied having represented Moritomo Gakuen or giving it legal advise in her days as a lawyer before she became a politician.
She retracted her denial on Tuesday and said she had given the operator legal counsel and represented it in a trial. She told parliament her memory had failed her.
Inada's husband and father have also been linked to Kagoike.
Kagoike's testimony will mark the first time in five years that a sworn witness has been summoned to give testimony in parliament.
His submission of three different cost estimates to claim a state subsidy and obtain approval for the school will also be investigated next week, lawmakers said Friday.
