There is no justification whatsoever for allowing Diet members free rein on how they spend fixed monthly allowances intended to cover travel and communications expenses. After all, the lavish allocations are financed by taxpayer money to cover their daily activities.

To dispel public doubts about the way political funds are used, we believe it is crucial for the Diet, during its current ordinary session, to pass a revision to the law that requires legislators to disclose details of their expenditures.

The monthly allowances of 1 million yen ($8,750) to cover communication and travel expenses are provided to all Diet members and come on top of their salaries and bonuses. The ruling and opposition camps have started talks over the package of allowances for “document, communication, travel and accommodation,” or “buntsu-hi” for short. The funds are supposedly used to cover telephone and postal charges, travel expenses and hotel fees when Diet members stay overnight in Tokyo as part of their official duties.

The payments drew sharp criticism after the Lower House election last autumn when it emerged that the full amount is paid even for a month when Diet members work only a single day. Some lawmakers called for a review of the perks, but disagreements arose between the ruling and opposition camps and thwarted any revision to the law during the extraordinary Diet session late last year. No further delay in legislative action can be countenanced.

The law concerning salaries and allowances paid to Diet members stipulates how “buntsu-hi” should be used. But the line on eligible expenses remains unclear, as does the obligation on the part of Diet members to disclose how they use the money. As a result, the allowances are effectively supplementary salaries that legislators can use freely.

There have been past instances of the funds being used to pay the salaries of private secretaries to lawmakers, buy tickets to fundraising functions held by fellow Diet members and even cover living expenses. Such blatant misuse of the funds is rampant because their use is not subject to mandatory disclosure and public scrutiny.

During the extraordinary Diet session, Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party) and the Democratic Party for the People jointly submitted a bill to revise the law to pay the allowances on a per diem basis and require recipients disclose how the money was used.

The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan submitted its own bill for the same purpose. While the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and its junior partner, Komeito, agreed to the proposal to pay the allowances on a daily basis, the alliance refused to insist on mandatory disclosure. This blocked the passage of the proposed revision.

In the first meeting of the ruling and opposition parties to discuss the matter, held Feb. 8, participants cited the following issues for debate: payments on a daily basis, clarification and disclosure of use, return of unused allowances to state coffers and how to treat lawmakers who have been arrested or indicted.

Any fundamental review should involve debate on whether such hefty sums are even needed. Widespread use of mobile phones and the internet has radically changed the way people communicate.

When it comes to travel expenses, it should be noted that Diet members receive gratis Japan Railway passes that entitle them to free rides on Shinkansen high-speed trains as well as coupons for free flights between Tokyo and their electoral districts. It is open to debate whether Diet members even need allowances for staying in Tokyo when there are public dormitories available for them near the Diet buildings.

The priority in talks between the ruling and opposition parties should be on ensuring transparency in the use of the allowances. The ruling coalition, especially the LDP, should accept this principle as a first step toward effective reform.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has consistently stressed the importance of injecting transparency into political funds. Instead of sitting on the sidelines and leaving decisions to talks among the various parties, Kishida, as LDP president, should provide effective political leadership for building consensus within the ruling party through public debate.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Feb. 10