TOKYO, March 12 (Reuters) - Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso's leadership is needed now to ensure a thorough investigation into a suspected cronyism scandal involving a controversial land sale, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said on Monday.

"What is important now is to make everything clear," Suga said at a news conference.

He did not directly respond to a question about media reports that the name of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's wife, Akie, had been removed from documents related to the sale, which the government admitted on Monday had been altered.

The finance ministry plans to submit all findings available at the moment on its investigation into the case to parliament on Monday afternoon, Suga said. (Reporting by Kaori Kaneko Editing by Chang-Ran Kim)