The government will launch a probe this month into the outsourcing process for administrative work related to its coronavirus relief package that was later subcontracted to Japan's largest ad agency Dentsu Inc., industry minister Hiroshi Kajiyama said Monday.

The move comes amid questions over a program to provide cash benefits of up to 2 million yen ($18,000) each to small and medium-sized businesses that have been hit hard by the pandemic.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry contracted a group called the Service Design Engineering Council to implement the program for 76.9 billion yen, only for the group to subcontract the task to the advertising agency for 74.9 billion yen.

Opposition lawmakers and other critics have accused the group of being a front to syphon off taxpayers' money without providing any actual services.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, however, denied that there was anything shady about the arrangement, saying in parliament there was "no possibility" that improper gains were being made.

The ministry will enlist independent auditors to conduct the probe in order to verify the legitimacy of the contract, a process that usually occurs at the end of the fiscal year in March, Kajiyama told a press conference. A separate panel will also be set up to improve the transparency of any future contracts.

"Some have voiced skepticism about the program, so we decided to hear from some people from the outside. If anything needs to be fixed or goes against common sense, we have to work to remedy that."

Dentsu was tasked with processing online applications for the cash benefits, a massive undertaking that it further subcontracted parts of to temporary staffing firm Pasona Group Inc. and Transcosmos Inc., which provides integrated marketing, outsourcing and call center services.

All three companies were involved in the 2016 establishment of the Service Design Engineering Council, which is staffed by fewer than two dozen people.

The program, which launched at the beginning of May, has been dogged by issues including many complaints from businesses that have still not received the cash. The group has also come under fire for failing to make its earnings public, which is required under Japanese law.

Yuichi Okubo, the group's new chief, on Monday apologized for the error, which the group has since corrected, but stressed that there was nothing inappropriate about how the work had been subcontracted to Dentsu.

"We are handling the coordination and management as well as the payment side of the program...This is a very difficult job and also at the root of the service we provide," he told a press conference.

==Kyodo

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