Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Fumio Kishida responds to a question during a Lower House Budget Committee meeting on Jan. 29. (Takeshi Iwashita)

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida remained noncommittal and even negative toward closing an apparent “loophole” that was exploited in the recent funding scandal in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

Public uproar over unreported money accumulated by LDP factions through fund-raising parties led to the Budget Committees of the two Diet chambers to hold sessions on Jan. 29 regarding political funds.

The calling of the sessions was unusual because they were held before Kishida gave his policy speech, usually the first order of business at the start of an ordinary Diet session.

Three LDP factions, including the one once led by Kishida, returned money gained through the fund-raisers to faction members who exceeded their ticket quotas for those events.

A number of aides to lawmakers who received that money said they were told the funds were for “policy activities,” and that there was no legal obligation to record the money in political fund reports.

Yasuhiro Nakagawa, a Lower House member of junior coalition partner Komeito, pointed out that “policy activity expenses” was a term used to provide a hiding place for the return of money from LDP factions.

Nakagawa proposed changes that would require lawmakers to disclose how they used policy activity expenses.

Takeshi Shina of the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan said that over a five-year period, Toshihiro Nikai received about 5 billion yen ($34 million) in such policy activity expenses when he served as LDP secretary-general.

“The public will not be convinced unless the use of such money is made clear,” Shina said. He proposed doing away with all policy activity expenses.

But Kishida was cautious about making such changes.

“Discussions now are about finding a balance between freedom to engage in political activities and the public’s right to know,” he said.

Even members of his own LDP asked Kishida to clarify the extent to which factions accumulated money through fund-raising parties.

He said the party would begin questioning lawmakers so it could fulfill its responsibility to explain what went on.

When Kensuke Onishi of the CDP asked that a third party conduct such an investigation, Kishida said, “I am also thinking about having outside experts involved in the process.”

The CDP asked that high-ranking officials of the LDP faction once led by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe be called to testify in the Diet as unsworn witnesses.

The Abe faction accumulated by far the largest amount of unreported money through fund-raising parties.

The CDP also wants Nikai to respond to questions in the Diet.

In addition, Komeito and the opposition parties proposed revisions that would extend legal responsibility to lawmakers if any staff member in charge of accounting is found guilty of violating the Political Fund Control Law.

Kishida only said the LDP would discuss the matter internally and compile a proposal.

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