Photo/Illutration A fund-raising party held in May 2019 by the Liberal Democratic Party’s faction led by then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Despite significant public outrage, prosecutors will not pursue charges against 65 politicians and their aides involved in a high-profile funding scandal within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office attributed the decision on Dec. 26 to insufficient evidence and the relatively minor nature of the offenses.

Among those involved were 16 current and former lawmakers from the LDP’s largest intraparty faction, previously led by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Notable figures include former Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, and Tsuyoshi Takagi, former chairman of the party’s Diet Affairs Committee.

The Abe faction was at the center of the scandal, with lawmakers accumulating large sums of unreported funds gained from fund-raising parties.

For two of the individuals named, this marks the second time their cases were dropped.

In May, prosecutors decided against charging a government-paid secretary for Koichi Hagiuda and an accountant for Hiroshige Seko.

However, investigations were reopened after a citizen review panel called for their indictments.

Separate from the Abe faction, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and his aides will not be charged.

During the investigation, prosecutors uncovered unreported funds amounting to 1.35 billion yen ($8.5 million) from the Abe faction, 380 million yen from the faction led by Toshihiro Nikai, the party’s former secretary-general, and 30 million yen from the group led by former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

So far, four politicians, four secretaries and three accountants have been indicted in connection with the scandal.

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