A man engaged in internet-related reputation management has said that former Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai requested the deletion of personal computer data shortly after an alleged vote-buying scandal involving him and his wife, Anri, came to light last year. According to a statement of confession made by the man, read out by prosecutors during a hearing Monday as part of the trial of Anri Kawai at Tokyo District Court, Katsuyuki Kawai, 57, a lawmaker in the House of Representatives, met with the man at the former minister's residence in a dormitory for Diet members in Tokyo on Nov. 3 last year. At the time, Katsuyuki Kawai told the man that staff at his office may have taken some data without authorization, and that he wanted to delete any data that could cause a problem if it was leaked, the man said in the statement. On that day, Katsuyuki Kawai allegedly deleted PC data at his residence using data deletion software purchased by the man, according to the statement. The man also said he visited Kawai's office in Tokyo and the couple's offices in Hiroshima Prefecture the following day to delete PC data there.