Photo/Illutration Tamayo Marukawa, the former Olympic minister, is likely to lose. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party faced a crippling voter backlash in the Oct. 27 Lower House election over the politics and money scandal involving veteran and younger lawmakers.

The issue was at the forefront of the election that has left the LDP reeling after facing a likely loss of its majority in the chamber.

In total, 46 candidates who were involved in the scandal ran in the election, of whom six were projected to win as of 10 p.m. Fifteen were projected to lose their seats.

Nine candidates were punished by the LDP and did not win official party backing.

Some of them were unable to cooperate with junior coalition partner Komeito in the election.

Thirty-four candidates who were involved in the scandal were officially endorsed by the LDP. But the party did not allow them to be listed in the proportional districts as punishment.

In the final stages of the election campaign, it was revealed that the party headquarters had paid 20 million yen ($131,300) in political activity fees to the party branches headed by the candidates who did not have the party’s blessings.

As a result, both the party’s executive committee and the candidates in question came under withering criticism.

Because the 20 million yen was the same amount as that paid to the officially endorsed candidates, the opposition parties went on the offensive, asserting it amounted to an endorsement fee under a different name.

Tsuyoshi Takagi, 68, former chairperson of LDP Diet Affairs Committee, was expected to lose his seat in the Fukui No. 2 district.

Takagi was one of the “big five” influential members of the LDP’s largest Abe faction. He served as secretary-general of the faction until it announced it was disbanding due to the slush fund scandal.

Takagi’s party membership was suspended for six months after he was found responsible for failing to report more than 10 million yen in his own political fund balance report.

He was not officially endorsed by the party and ran as an independent in the hope of winning a ninth term.

Another “big five” member, Yasutoshi Nishimura, 62, who was also not endorsed by the party and had his party membership suspended for a year, looked likely to be re-elected in the Hyogo No. 9 district.

Tamayo Marukawa, the former Olympic minister, was running from the Tokyo No. 7 district and was on course to lose.

Marukawa, 53, was found to have failed to report 8.22 million yen in her political fund balance report.

She was officially endorsed by the party but not allowed to be listed in the proportional district.

Attention in coming days will focus on whether the candidates who were not officially endorsed due to their involvement in the scandal but were elected anyway are allowed to return to the LDP’s embrace.

Appearing on a TV program covering the election night, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said he has not yet decided whether to grant them post-election endorsement.

“There was some discussion during the campaign about whether it would be a good idea. We have to consider whether we can gain the public’s understanding,” he said. 

 

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