In Japan, prosecutors probe ruling LDP lawmakers over fundraising scandal

Several dozen LDP lawmakers face questioning amid allegations the group failed to declare fundraising party revenue in political funding reports
The scandal has already rocked Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government, resulting in the replacement of all four ministers in the LDP’s largest faction

Japan

Kyodo

Published: 10:53pm, 16 Dec 2023

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Prosecutors have started questioning Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers on a voluntary basis in connection with a political fund scandal involving the LDP’s largest faction, sources familiar with the matter said on Saturday.

Several dozen lawmakers of the faction are targeted for questioning amid allegations that the group failed to declare hundreds of millions of yen of fundraising party revenue in political funding reports.

The scandal has already rocked Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government, resulting in the replacement of all four ministers belonging to the LDP’s largest faction, and could also deliver a further blow to the ruling party depending on how the investigation proceeds.

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The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office’s special investigation squad is looking into the case as a possible violation of the political funds control law.

The scandal emerged following a criminal complaint alleging five LDP factions underreported revenue from political fundraising parties. They include the faction Kishida belongs to, which is the fourth largest.

LDP factions have traditionally set quotas for lawmakers on the sale of party tickets, usually priced at 20,000 yen (US$141). In some groups, if they surpass their targets, the extra funds have been passed back to them as a type of commission.

In the LDP’s biggest faction, which former prime minister Shinzo Abe led until his assassination in July 2022, the extra funds had neither been reported as expenditure nor as payments to lawmakers.

Such shady funds are believed to have amounted to around 500 million yen over a five-year period through 2022 in the Abe faction.

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Among the lawmakers of the faction, House of Councillors member Yasutada Ono is believed to have received over 50 million yen and House of Representatives members Yoshitaka Ikeda and Yaichi Tanigawa received more than 40 million yen, the sources said.

The Political Funds Control Act requires an accountant to submit a report on income and expenditure. Failure to report can result in imprisonment for up to five years or a fine of up to 1 million yen.

The prosecutors are also expected to investigate the flow of money within the faction through the questioning of lawmakers who served as secretary general to the Abe faction, such as former chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno and former trade minister Yasutoshi Nishimura.

Matsuno, who is suspected of failing to report more than 10 million yen in income earned from the Abe faction’s fundraising events, and Nishimura were among the four ministers replaced on Thursday.

Nishimura, meanwhile, said on the social media platform X on Saturday: “I will cooperate with the investigation and fulfil my accountability when the appropriate time comes.”

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