THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
October 4, 2024 at 13:48 JST
Shigeru Ishiba addresses supporters at a fund-raising party for his political faction in Tokyo on May 9, 2017. (Rei Kishitsu)
The now-disbanded intraparty faction led by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba failed to report 800,000 yen ($5,456) in income gained from fund-raising parties held between 2019 and 2021, The Asahi Shimbun has learned.
Similar discrepancies in other factions of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party sparked a major scandal and led in part to a subsequent change in LDP leadership.
In 2019, Kenko Hoken Seiji Renmei, an association of health insurance societies, purchased tickets worth 480,000 yen for fund-raising parties held by Suigetsu-kai, the LDP faction once led by Ishiba.
However, only 280,000 yen was reported by the faction, leaving 200,000 yen unaccounted for, an Asahi Shimbun investigation found.
Similar omissions concerning 200,000 yen for 2020 and 400,000 yen for 2021 were also uncovered.
The donating health insurance group has confirmed that it bought party tickets at the request of LDP lawmakers and recorded the amounts in its financial reports.
Under the Political Fund Control Law, politicians must disclose the name and amount in their financial reports for any individual or organization that purchases party tickets exceeding 200,000 yen per event.
Ishiba’s private office said it would check the matter with his accounting team.
During a television appearance in December, Ishiba reassured the public that all income and expenses from his faction’s fund-raising parties were accurately recorded and disclosed.
Furthermore, on Sept. 27, after being elected president of the LDP, he stressed the importance of complying with political funding regulations and called for the establishment of a system to allow for public scrutiny.
“The latest revelation of discrepancies mirrors those found in other LDP factions,” said Hiroshi Kamiwaki, professor of constitutional law at Kobe Gakuin University. “Given the lack of credibility in the party’s previous explanations, a thorough re-examination is necessary.”
(This article was written by Ai Asanuma and Yuki Okado.)
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