Japan’s Finance Ministry to Punish 100 Officials

Japan’s Ministry of Finance said Wednesday that it will punish more than 100 of its officials for being wined and dined by representatives of the businesses they regulate.

The ministry is investigating 400 other officials to determine if they too were entertained by private companies with which they have government dealings.

The nature of the penalties will be revealed soon, the ministry said, refusing to elaborate.

Japanese bureaucrats long have accepted lavish attention from private companies. The practice is now at the root of a scandal involving accusations that regulators favored companies that courted them with expensive dinners and other treats.

A finance minister and another ranking official resigned earlier this year over the scandal, although they were not directly implicated. It is common in Japan for top officials of institutions to quit when subordinates have been accused of wrongdoing.

Earlier this month, Japan’s central bank punished 98 employees after conducting its own probe into whether officials had been wined and dined by private banks, brokerages and other institutions.