Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, meets May 31 with Natsuo Yamaguchi, head of junior coalition partner Komeito. (Norihito Sato)

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party struck a deal on revisions to the law on political funding with its junior coalition partner Komeito and the opposition party Nippon Ishin no Kai following a public outcry over mountains of cash that went unreported.

The agreement, which involved some kowtowing by the LDP, ensures that revisions to the Political Fund Control Law pass the current session of the Diet, thereby honoring the party’s pledge to atone for its behavior.

On May 31, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who also heads the LDP, met separately with the leaders of junior coalition partner Komeito and the opposition Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party).

In his meeting with Komeito’s Natsuo Yamaguchi, Kishida agreed to go along with Komeito’s proposal to lower the disclosure threshold for those who purchase at least 50,000 yen ($320) in tickets to fund-raising parties.

Under the current law, disclosure is only required for those who spend more than 200,000 yen. The LDP had kept insisting the figure could only be lowered to 100,000 yen. In the end, Kishida agreed to compromise in the face of Komeito’s intransigence.

Meeting later with Nippon Ishin’s Nobuyuki Baba, Kishida also agreed to Nippon Ishin’s proposal to release receipts connected to the use of so-called “policy activity fees,” which can often run into the millions of yen when distributed to party executives, once 10 years have passed.

The LDP had been holding out to only divulge the wide areas in which such money is spent rather than provide specifics.

After their meetings with Kishida, Yamaguchi and Baba met with reporters and said their respective parties would now go along with a new LDP proposal that incorporated the changes they had sought.

As a result, LDP directors presented a proposal to the Lower House special committee deliberating the legislation to revise the Political Fund Control Law that included the changes called for by Komeito and Nippon Ishin.

With those two parties now on board, the LDP plans to push for a vote in the Lower House as early as June 4 so the measure can be moved to the Upper House. The plan is to pass the legislation into law in the current Diet session scheduled to end on June 23.

But the other opposition parties were still highly critical of the new proposal because it does not address a key demand to ban all donations from companies and organizations. The opposition also wanted other provisions that would have made Diet members legally responsible for any violations of the Political Fund Control Law by aides.

(This article was written by Naoki Matsuyama and Mika Kuniyoshi.)

Related News