Photo/Illutration Lower House member Yoshitaka Ikeda, who belongs to the Liberal Democratic Party’s Abe faction, attends a Diet session on Nov. 7, 2023. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office on Jan. 26 indicted Lower House member Yoshitaka Ikeda and an aide on charges of violating the Political Funds Control Law (giving false statements).

Prosecutors said Ikeda, 57, and Kazuhiro Kakinuma, 45, failed to list in their political fund balance reports excess income totaling 48.26 million yen ($326,600) as donations.

Ikeda Reimei-kai, a political fund management organization Ikeda chairs, reportedly received the money from the Liberal Democratic Party’s Abe faction over the five-year period from 2018 to 2022.

Before prosecutors raided houses and offices related to Ikeda in December, one of his aides had smashed several computers in the lawmaker's local office in Nagoya with a screwdriver-like tool, according to sources.

Prosecutors believe the computers contained accounting-related data and that Ikeda had ordered their destruction.

Documents were also destroyed, they suspect.

Prosecutors interpreted such actions as destroying evidence, and Ikeda and Kakinuma were arrested on Jan. 7.

The two have been the only arrests made in the series of scandals.

Ikeda was a member of the LDP’s largest Abe faction, which was headed by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe until he was fatally shot in 2022, before being expelled from it.

On Jan. 19, prosecutors brought indictments and summary indictments against eight people in connection with the three factions--Abe, Nikai and Kishida.

The investigation was closed with a total of 10 people indicted, including Ikeda and his aide.

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