Photo/Illutration A public library in Ibaraki Prefecture (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

I read many books every day because of my job but also because reading is my hobby.

Since I cannot buy every book I want, nor do I have unlimited storage space, I only buy what I want to keep and rely on libraries for the rest.

I counted the books I borrowed from libraries last year. The number exceeded 1,000 volumes.

A political organization affiliated with Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Toshihiro Nikai recently revised his political funds revenue and expenditure report, adding a new expenditure titled “book purchases.”

I looked at the figure and could not believe my eyes: 34.72 million yen ($231,164) over three years.

This was a far bigger surprise than the results of an LDP survey of its legislators, which showed Nikai “outperforming” everyone else in his amount of unreported expenses.

I am sure nobody thought of Nikai as an avid reader who royally splurges on books.

Actually, the details of his purchases became available with the disclosure of receipts on Feb. 14.

The books came in 17 types, totaling about 28,000 copies. Several thousand volumes of each type were purchased, including books about him. Most of the volumes had been bought in bulk to be given away.

I imagined what libraries would do if they had that kind of budget to play with.

The Japan Library Association last year appealed in writing to the Cabinet ministers concerned that it was “unable to secure the materials that citizens need.”

The purchasing budget last year was 8.4 million yen per library, more than 5 million yen less than 23 years ago.

The amount Nikai spent would have taken care of four libraries.

The situation is difficult for school libraries, too.

One survey found that the average purchase amount per school in the last fiscal year was smaller than 10 years ago, and this applied to elementary, junior high and high schools.

As elementary schools each spent about 470,000 yen, on average, in the last fiscal year, Nikai could have paid for 74 schools.

In their revised expense reports, some LDP lawmakers chose “unknown” for their expenses and the recipients.

They refused to disclose not only the titles of books, but also how much they had spent and on what.

For treating the public with utter disrespect, they will someday be punished for certain.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Feb. 15 

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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