Photo/Illutration A receipt for the 5,000 yen paid to attend a party at Hotel New Otani in 2018 the night before the cherry blossom viewing event at Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden (Provided by a voter from Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture )

Legal experts pointed out discrepancies in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s explanation about a party sponsored by his support organization, adding that his remarks still suggest political finding laws were violated.

At issue is the murky exchange of money related to the dinner party held earlier this year at Hotel New Otani in central Tokyo, as well as the fee of 5,000 yen ($46) per guest, a price that opposition parties say was too low for such a posh venue.

Abe admitted on Nov. 20 at the Upper House plenary session that his support group based in his home prefecture of Yamaguchi sponsored the party held on the night before an April cherry blossom viewing event, another gathering that has drawn criticism from opposition parties.

According to Abe, his support group did not pay the hotel ahead of time for the party, which was attended by around 800 of his supporters.

Instead, each participant, before entering the ballroom, gave 5,000 yen to a support group staff member while a hotel employee was standing by, the prime minister said.

When all fees were received and the reception desk was closed, the entire amount was handed over to hotel employees.

Abe said that as a result of this process, his support group did not have any direct revenues or expenditures from the party, thereby negating the need to include entries about the amounts in its annual political funds report.

Nobuo Gohara, a former prosecutor who now works as a lawyer, told The Asahi Shimbun that he found various problems with Abe’s explanation.

He focused on the fact the party itself was hosted by Abe’s support group.

“If it becomes clear that there were revenues and expenditures, the group would have been obligated to include those figures in its political funds report,” Gohara said. “And if it did not, that could constitute a possible violation of the Political Fund Control Law.”

Gohara also said that if all participants made payments directly to the hotel, it would mean that Abe, his wife, Akie, and other staff members from his office should also have paid the required amount to Hotel New Otani.

Gohara went on to say that if the prime minister and his staff made such payments, those expenditures should have been included in his own political funds report.

If no such entry exists, that would violate the Political Fund Control Law, Gohara said.

But if Abe did not pay the fee to the hotel, that would mean that he received food and drinks from the hotel for free. That could constitute another violation of the Political Fund Control Law because the hotel would have provided the prime minister with benefits that run counter to the ban on donations of all kinds from companies except to political parties.

As for the fee to attend the party, Abe has said the hotel set the low price because many of the party-goers were also staying at the hotel.

Abe was also asked about another pre-sakura party held at Hotel New Otani in 2015. The fee for that party was also 5,000 yen, although many of the participants stayed at another hotel.

Abe only said the amount was agreed upon after consultations with Hotel New Otani.

Hiroshi Kamiwaki, a professor of constitutional law at Kobe Gakuin University, said Abe’s explanation does not add up since party participants ended up paying the same fee even though they did not stay at Hotel New Otani.

Kamiwaki said disclosure of the invoices for the dinner parties was needed to clarify the details.

(This article was written by Dai Nagata and Kengo Kamo.)