Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks with reporters on the morning of Jan. 19 before heading to his office. (Takeshi Iwashita)

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and former Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai on Jan. 19 said they will disband their factions in the ruling party in response to a funding scandal.

“I will dissolve the faction in order to restore trust in politics,” Kishida told reporters in the morning.

Kishida stepped down as faction head in December after reports emerged about huge amounts of unreported money accumulated by LDP factions through their fund-raising parties.

Prosecutors later on Jan. 19 indicted an official who was in charge of accounting for the Kishida faction. The official is suspected of failing to properly report about 30 million yen ($202,000) accumulated through fund-raising parties in the faction’s political fund reports.

An official who was in charge of accounting at the Nikai faction was also indicted, along with an aide to Nikai.

Although Kishida stopped short of saying what other LDP factions should do, he told reporters, “In order to erase suspicions and restore trust, new rules must be considered” regarding factions.

A group of LDP lawmakers who do not belong to any faction held its first meeting on Jan. 19.

At the start of the meeting, Ryosei Akazawa, one of the organizers of the group, gave his view on Kishida’s decision to dissolve the faction that still bears his name.

“While it demonstrates the extent to which the prime minister is serious about the issue, the question remains on what the other factions will do.”

Members of the LDP factions led by Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi and LDP Vice President Taro Aso have defended factions as important for policy discussions and nurturing younger lawmakers.

Those two factions have not been targeted in investigations by prosecutors looking for possible violations of the Political Fund Control Law.

A leading member of the Motegi faction said: “Dissolving only the Kishida faction will be sufficient. Our feeling is ‘do as you please.’”

A member of the Aso faction clearly said the group would stick together.

“Factions have been in place for decades and have positive aspects,” the member said. “The prime minister should think about the effect on other factions.”

According to several close associates of Kishida, he did not consult with either Motegi or Aso before making the decision to dissolve his faction.

Keiichi Ishii, secretary-general of junior coalition partner Komeito, welcomed the move by Kishida.

“We want to see what effect it will have on other LDP factions,” Ishii said.

Kenta Izumi, head of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, said dissolution of the Kishida faction is only the first step toward uncovering suspicions about slush funds accumulated by LDP factions.

“(Kishida) has not spoken about the money his faction kept hidden,” Izumi said at his Jan. 19 news conference. “It is like they are trying to flee with the money, and he is not taking any responsibility.”

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