Photo/Illutration Lower House member Isshu Sugawara holds a news conference on June 16 at Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo. (Naoki Matsuyama)

A lawmaker in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party has admitted his aides repeatedly broke the law by offering money at the wakes or funerals of local constituents.

Isshu Sugawara resigned as the economy minister in October 2019 after a weekly magazine ran reports about his office distributing expensive gifts to constituents in violation of the Public Offices Election Law.

Sugawara held a news conference on June 16 at LDP headquarters in Tokyo, where he admitted his aides violated the law by distributing about 300,000 yen ($2,800) on average over the course of a year, between 2017 and 2019.

While he apologized for the acts of his aides, Sugawara said he would not resign his Diet seat or leave the LDP.

Although the Public Offices Election Law prohibits a Diet member from giving anything of value to constituents, an exception is made for offering money at wakes and funerals if the lawmaker personally attends and presents the offering.

Sugawara said in about 90 percent of the cases, he attended the wake or funeral to offer the money.

“There were instances when aides attended in my place to present the offering because I was either abroad on business or attending Diet proceedings that had extended into the night,” Sugawara said.

He also acknowledged he may have transgressed the law by sending flowers to the home of the deceased prior to a funeral.

However, Sugawara did not touch on the allegations in weekly magazine reports that he gave expensive gifts of crab and melons to his constituents--another possible legal violation.

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