Japan’s FM mulls skipping G20 moot

TOKYO: Japan's finance minister is considering skipping a Group of 20 finance leaders´ gathering in Buenos Aires next week, Japanese media reported, as a suspected cover-up of a cronyism scandal paralyses parliament and puts his job on the line.

Premier Shinzo Abe and his close ally, Finance Minister Taro Aso, are under pressure over the finance ministry´s announcement it had altered records of a discounted sale of state-owned land to a school operator with ties to Abe´s wife.

Aso missing the G20 gathering would be the latest blow the scandal is inflicting on the Abe administration´s agenda, with the parliamentary stalemate also seen delaying reforms to boost long-term economic growth.

"The firestorm surrounding the cover-up and the land sale will continue to inhibit the administration´s ability to move its agenda through the Diet," said Tobias Harris, vice president at Teneo Intelligence, a global advisory firm.