An uproar of opposition emerged within a ruling Liberal Democratic Party meeting over the mere suggestion of banning corporate and group political donations, putting Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in a tight spot.

Ishiba himself also appears opposed to ending such donations, which have long supported the LDP’s political activities.

However, Ishiba has promised to move toward resolving the LDP’s “politics and money” issue, which has been harshly criticized by the public.

And to pass bills in the Diet, his minority government will need the help of opposition parties, many of which are seeking an end to corporate and group donations.

The LDP held the first meeting of its political reform headquarters on Nov. 12 and confirmed a plan to revise the Political Fund Control Law by the end of this year.

The plan includes abolishing policy activity expenses, which are paid by political parties to individual lawmakers, who are not required to disclose how the funds are used.

Ishiba, who attended the meeting, said in a speech that the LDP will “take the lead in providing answers” to political funding issues.

He urged the party to reach a conclusion by the end of the year.

On Oct. 28, the day after the ruling coalition lost its majority in the Lower House election, Ishiba announced his intention to achieve the following three goals at the earliest possible date: abolition of policy activity expenses; disclosure of how Diet members spend their fixed monthly allowances, which are supposed to cover research, travel and communication expenses, and the return of unused money from the allowances; and establishment of a third-party organization to check political funds.

The LDP plans to finalize the working group discussions by the end of the week.

Attendees agreed on the need for guidelines concerning the allowances because the scope of money available for use is ambiguous.

After the meeting, Kisaburo Tokai, who heads the political reform headquarters, said necessary legal amendments will be made during the extraordinary Diet session scheduled for the end of this year.

“It is not good for the country to drag this issue out indefinitely. We will work with a sense of speed,” he said.

Tokai, however, said the meeting showed vehement opposition toward banning corporate and group donations.

“There is a consensus (within the party) that the perception that corporate and group donations are bad and individual donations are good is not true at all,” Shinjiro Koizumi, secretary-general of the political reform headquarters, told reporters.

Ishiba has been extremely cautious about banning such donations.

“The Supreme Court has ruled that corporations are free to donate political funds to political parties,” he said at a news conference on Nov. 11.

At the same time, the prime minister said the LDP will consider implementing the following: limits on the amount of donations; tax measures to shift to individual donations; and transparency.

Corporate and group donations have been important sources of funds for most political parties but especially the LDP.

According to the political fund balance report for 2022, corporations and groups donated more than 8 billion yen ($51.7 million) to political party headquarters, branches and political funding organizations.

More than 90 percent of the total went to the LDP.

The main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan has positioned the banning of corporate and group donations as the core of political reform.

“Corporate donations are a breeding ground for corruption and money politics,” CDP Secretary-General Junya Ogawa said at a news conference on Nov. 12. “We will call on all opposition parties to abolish them and press (the LDP) to do so.”

Among other opposition parties, Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party), Reiwa Shinsengumi and the Japanese Communist Party are open to a ban.

The Democratic Party for the People, on the other hand, is taking a cautious stance.

DPP President Yuichiro Tamaki said at a news conference on Nov. 12 that limiting the amount of corporate and group donations, which Ishiba has proposed, “is worth considering.”

But how the debate over political funds will develop remains unclear.

“I cannot answer how the discussions among parties will proceed. That is the honest truth,” Tokai said.

(This article was written by Hayato Jinno and Takahiro Okubo.)