A special investigation squad connected to the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor’s Office has misplaced evidence connected with a bid-rigging case that involves an agency linked to the government. The evidence was collected when the Fair Trade Commission raided the Japan Green Resources Agency, which comes under the agricultural ministry, and other entities that were suspected of making political donations to farm minister Toshikatsu Matsuoka.

The prosecutors said Friday that evidence packed in several cardboard boxes was transferred to their office from the FTC in late April, but one of the boxes went missing while prosecutors’ staff was sorting them out.

The material in the missing box was inadvertently disposed of by cleaning staff, they said. The lost material is believed to have included ledgers confiscated during searches by the FTC.

How convenient!