Photo/Illutration Yoshihiko Noda, president of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, fields questions from reporters on March 16 in Aomori. (Yusuke Noda)

Opposition leaders have demanded Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba appear at Diet ethics committees to explain why he gave gift certificates to 15 rookie lawmakers of his Liberal Democratic Party.

“A thorough investigation into the past must be conducted,” Yoshihiko Noda, president of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, told reporters on March 16 while visiting Aomori.

Ishiba has acknowledged giving gift certificates worth 100,000 yen ($673) to each of the 15 new Lower House members at a dinner party in early March.

He apologized once again at a meeting of the Upper House Budget Committee on March 17.

“I am painfully aware that (giving the gift certificates) was way out of line with the world’s perception.”

But he again denied violating election or political funding laws, saying the gift recipients were not voters from his constituency and the meeting was not for political purposes.

Noda said the prime minister should explain himself at the Deliberative Council on Political Ethics of both Diet chambers.

The CDP leader also pointed out that the dinner meeting with the 15 lawmakers was held at the Prime Minister’s Official Residence and was attended by both the chief Cabinet secretary and the deputy chief Cabinet secretary.

The meeting “was truly a political activity,” Noda said, and there was “a very strong possibility” that giving gift certificates violated the Political Fund Control Law, which prohibits donations related to political activities.

At an earlier CDP meeting, Noda stressed he would not “simply call for” Ishiba to step down by submitting a no-confidence motion against the Cabinet.

An Ishiba resignation would allow the ruling party to enter the Upper House election in summer with a “new face,” and that would “rather please the LDP,” he said.

Ishiba has a number of adversaries in the LDP, which lost its majority in the Lower House election in October.

The gift-giving controversy could further hurt the image of the LDP, which is still embroiled in a scandal over unreported political funds.

Yuichiro Tamaki, president of the Democratic Party for the People, appeared on a Fuji Television program on March 16 and called for Ishiba to attend the Deliberative Council on Political Ethics and “give an explanation that brings a certain closure.”

Regarding the submission of a no-confidence motion against the Cabinet, Tamaki suggested he could be in favor of such a move.

“I would take it seriously by all means,” he said.

In an NHK debate program on March 16, opposition leaders agreed that Ishiba’s action may have violated the Political Fund Control Law.

Ruling coalition members also expressed harsh views on the program.

Masaaki Taniai, Upper House caucus chairman of Komeito, the LDP’s junior coalition partner, said, “(Ishiba) should assume his moral responsibility, including providing explanations that will satisfy the public.”

Ishiba’s gifts to the lawmakers came to light after the coalition, with cooperation from opposition Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party), passed the initial budget for the new fiscal year in the Lower House.

On whether the gift controversy will impact Upper House deliberations on the budget, which are nearing the final stage, Taniai said, “Only the prime minister himself can remove a major obstacle.”

Keizo Takemi, chairman of the LDP Upper House caucus, also criticized Ishiba, saying, “It is obvious that (Ishiba’s action) is quite out of touch with the people’s sensibilities.”

However, Takemi expressed a negative view about summoning Ishiba to the Deliberative Council on Political Ethics.

“First of all, it is fundamental for (Ishiba) to explain himself at the Budget Committee,” Takemi said.

(This article was compiled from reports by Takahiro Okubo, Tsuneo Sasai and Shinichi Fujiwara.)

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