Photo/Illutration The headquarters of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Lower House election candidates who were denied official endorsements from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party are trying to distance themselves from party payments that have ignited an uproar in the campaign’s final stages.

The party said these candidates were being disciplined over their involvement in a funding scandal, but LDP headquarters has transferred 20 million yen ($132,000) each to the party branches headed by these individuals.

The total is the same as the amount provided to officially endorsed LDP candidates in the Oct. 27 Lower House election.

The LDP has tried to explain the money is intended to expand party membership, and that the non-endorsed candidates cannot use the funds for campaigning.

But the explanation has done little to quell speculation that the party is secretly helping to finance the campaigns of the supposed disciplined candidates.

The party has provided the funds to the branches headed by nine members who were not officially endorsed.

Koichi Hagiuda, a former LDP policy chief, was denied an official endorsement over his failure to report large amounts of funds received from his former faction.

In a video posted on his X account on Oct. 24, Hagiuda acknowledged receiving the 20 million yen from LDP headquarters but said the money was “unasked for.”

He also stressed he was not using the funds for his campaign.

Hagiuda, running as an independent in Tokyo’s No. 24 district, also said, “I have strong doubts” about the party leaders’ decision to distribute the money.

Kiyoshi Odawara, who is running as an independent from Tokyo’s No. 21 district, said he tried to return the money to LDP headquarters but was turned down.

Tsuyoshi Takagi, a former LDP Diet Affairs Committee chair, also said he would not use the money in campaigning as an independent candidate in Fukui Prefecture’s No. 2 district.

Tomoaki Iwai, a professor emeritus of political science at Nihon University, said it would be virtually impossible to assess how the 20 million yen was actually spent by the heads of the party branches.

Iwai noted that some items in political fund reports, such as personnel expenses, do not require details about how the money was spent. Politicians, he said, can simply include amounts under that category, making it very difficult to determine how the money was used.

Iwai described the party branch headed by LDP lawmakers as a “second purse” for them to supplement their own political fund management groups.

In almost all cases, the party branch and political fund management group not only are headed by the same individual, but they also use the same address and accounting official in compiling political fund reports.

Iwai added that it was also possible for the party branch heads to transfer funds after the election to cover various expenses used in the actual campaign.

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