12 angry Japanese sue lawmakers
In hope of eradicating corrupt politics, 12 Japanese citizens filed a criminal complaint on Thursday with the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office against 10 lawmakers of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, focusing on allegations of secret funds and tax evasion.
The accused lawmakers include five prominent members of the Abe faction within the LDP, identified with the late former prime minister Shinzo Abe. Former chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno and former economy, trade and industry minister Yasutoshi Nishimura are on the list.
Allegations suggest that several LDP factions redirected funds exceeding the sales quota for party tickets back to some of their lawmakers as slush funds, with no record of the entire financial flow in the financial statements of the factions or their members. As a result, the lawmakers evaded income tax on the sales revenue.
The scandal, which is considered to be an incredibly unethical act that constitutes a clear violation of the law, has fostered public distrust in Japanese politics. However, the
LDP’s interim report on political reform, approved on Jan 25, avoided addressing the most important issues, the complainants said.
“Politicians who fail to fulfill their responsibility to clarify the allegations of financial corruption in politics must exit the political stage,” they said.
Dozens of protesters held a demonstration in front of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office on Thursday, demanding strict punishment for the accused individuals.
In Japanese law, a political party faction giving money to an individual member of parliament is prohibited, constituting a criminal offense.
Public criticism
However, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida does not seem genuinely motivated to conduct a thorough investigation. If he does, significant irregularities may surface, leading to strong public criticism of the LDP, said Takakage Fujita, secretary-general of the Association for Inheriting and Propagating the Murayama Statement.
“It is likely that Kishida will attempt to weather the current situation with superficial measures to prevent a recurrence of similar problems,” he said. Due to the recent slush fund scandal, the Abe faction, the largest faction within the LDP, has suffered a significant blow.
The Abe faction decided at its last general meeting on Thursday to set up a liquidation management committee to disband the group, Kyodo News reported.
“The under-the-table money scandal will bring about significant changes in the power structure of the Liberal Democratic Party. In the coming months, intense power struggles within the LDP are expected to escalate as its lawmakers head toward the party leadership election in September,” Fujita said.
Shigeaki Koga, a former senior official from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, said if Kishida drags it out until the LDP leadership election in September, his low approval ratings might become a challenge.
“It might not be Kishida, but someone else could gain popularity. Therefore, the challenge for him is to dissolve the parliament before September and achieve a decent result,” he said.
Yet, it remains uncertain if his approval ratings will recover by then. An essential aspect is to bring real wage growth into positive territory, which is quite challenging, Koga said.