“Suspicion of requesting non-recording of information from lawmakers”
The Yomiuri Shimbun reported on the 15th that the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors’ Office, which is investigating allegations of slush funds for the ‘Seiwa Policy Research Group’ of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s Abe faction (99 members), is considering indicting the faction’s accounting officer.
The newspaper reported this, citing an official. We are considering booking him on charges of violating the Political Fund Regulation Act (failure to record or make false information).
Currently, the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors’ Office’s special department is looking into suspicions of non-disclosure or false information in the income and expenditure report regarding the political funds of five factions of the Liberal Democratic Party, including the Abe faction.
Lawmakers belonging to the Abe faction are accused of failing to record the amount exceeding the quota for selling ‘party tickets’ for political fundraising in the political fund balance report, and instead taking back the money they raised and using it as a slush fund.
Japan’s Political Fund Regulation Act stipulates that organizations that have purchased party tickets worth more than 200,000 yen (approximately 1.7 million won) must be listed in the balance of payments report. Failure to fill out the information will result in imprisonment of up to 5 years or a fine of up to 1 million yen. If a conspiracy is established, people other than the accounting manager can be held guilty.
The Abe faction’s accounting manager is accused of failing to record the information, and of requesting that lawmakers not record it as well.
During the special department’s discretionary assessment hearing, this person in charge acknowledged facts that were not stated in the budget report. The slush fund structure, etc. was explained.
In particular, according to the newspaper, the Special Department also requested ‘arbitrary investigation (investigation)’ from lawmakers belonging to the Abe faction. Random assessment hearings can be conducted through both summons and in-person investigations.
The special department plans to investigate dozens of people, including those with experience as secretary generals, within the Abe faction. The newspaper reported that the schedules are expected to be coordinated and carried out all at once. Check whether it has been defunded, the amount of money, and the status of the statement of income and expenditure report.
The Special Department is focusing on the fact that the Abe faction’s defunding was led by factions. We plan to initiate a mandatory investigation into the Abe faction on charges of violating the Political Fund Regulation Act.
According to officials, the size of Abe’s slush fund is estimated to be a total of 500 million yen (about 4.55 billion won) over the five years from 2018 to 2022. The amount not recorded in the balance of payments report may exceed 1 billion yen (approximately 9.1 billion won).
In addition to the Abe faction, the Special Department includes the Nikai faction (40 members) ‘Shisui Kai (志帥?)’ and the Kishida faction (46 members) headed by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (岸田文雄) ‘Hiroike (宏池) Policy Research Group.’ It is also believed that the party’s income is listed in the budget report as less than the actual amount. The Nikai faction is worth 100 million yen, and the Kishida faction is worth tens of millions of yen. The investigation into them is continuing.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.