“We must push for reforms so that politicians can also fulfill their responsibilities.”
“I don’t think about holding a political fund party while I am prime minister.”
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (岸田文雄) attended the ‘Political Ethics Review Committee’ (hereinafter referred to as Jeong Yun-shim) held on the 29th to demand an explanation of the ‘slush fund scandal’ from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party faction and apologized for the scandal. He emphasized that he would carry out reforms.
According to local public broadcasters NHK and TV Asahi on the 29th, Prime Minister Kishida, the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, attended the meeting at around 2 p.m. on this day and said, “The Liberal Democratic Party has raised many concerns about the political funding issue of the faction and is causing political distrust.” “As the president, I apologize from the bottom of my heart,” he said.
Regarding the failure to adhere to the obvious rule of clarifying the balance of political funds, Prime Minister Kishida emphasized, “If the cause is a lack of political compliance awareness, thorough compliance reform must be promoted.”
He continued, “Why can’t politicians fully fulfill their responsibilities when a problem arises? “If the cause is that ‘politics is special,’ we must correct that sense of privilege and pursue reforms so that politicians can also fulfill their natural responsibilities,” he emphasized.
He said, “In order to restore trust in politics, I will take the lead and fix what needs to be fixed without being bound by precedent or custom. “First of all, the Liberal Democratic Party, which is in need of self-purification, must make a fundamental restart,” he said emphatically.
At the same time, the failure to include in the political fund balance report of the Kishida faction ‘Kochi Policy Research Association (Kochikai)’, of which he served as chairman, was “all due to errors in the accounting knowledge of the accounting manager at the time and mistakes made while translating the ledgers, etc.” “It was a mistake that occurred due to negligence,” he explained.
The reason public opinion was disappointed by this scandal was that key lawmakers involved in the slush fund avoided being booked, and some accountants were booked.
Prime Minister Kishida said that the party’s political reform headquarters had given instructions regarding the necessary revision of the Political Fund Regulation Act. He explained that he had ordered the revision of laws so that not only the accounting manager but also the politicians themselves would be held responsible in cases of vicious cases, and the revision of laws to expand the scope and scope of audits of political organizations in order to strengthen external surveillance.
He also added, “In parallel with these measures to prevent recurrence, we will make efforts to confirm the facts and make judgments as a party regarding political responsibility, including the disposition of officials.”
Prime Minister Kishida was asked, “As the Prime Minister, can you clearly state that you will not hold a party with political funds?” Prime Minister Kishida said, “As the Prime Minister, I am not currently thinking about holding a party.” When he was repeatedly questioned as to whether he would do it ‘while in office’ rather than ‘now’, he said, “As a result, I don’t think I will do anything while I am in office.”
The Liberal Democratic Party faction was regularly holding political fundraising parties to sell party tickets. Each member of the National Assembly has a quota for party ticket sales, and all income from party ticket sales must be recorded in the budget report.
However, some factions were suspected of not reporting or making false statements regarding political funds, sparking controversy over the creation of slush funds.
Accordingly, public opinion grew increasingly critical of the cabinet and the Liberal Democratic Party faction. The Kishida cabinet’s approval rating took a hit, falling to the 10% range.
This is the first time that a sitting Prime Minister attends Chung Yun-shim.
Prime Minister Kishida plans to try to restore public trust by explaining things politely.
Jeong Yun-shim was installed in 1985 when the National Assembly Act was revised in the wake of a bribery scandal called the ‘Lockheed incident’. In cases where the National Assembly member’s code of conduct is violated, political responsibility is assessed by requesting the member’s attendance.
This is the 10th time that Jeong Yun-sim has been held. This is the first time that a member of the House of Representatives (House of Representatives) has appeared before Chung Yoon-shim since former Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kosuke Ito in 2006.
In addition to Prime Minister Kishida, former Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Ryota Takeda is scheduled to attend on the 29th. The next day, March 1, four of the five core members of the Abe faction, the largest faction of the Liberal Democratic Party, are scheduled to attend. They include former Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Yasutoshi Nishimura, former Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, former Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, and former National Assembly Countermeasures Committee Chairman Tsuyoshi Takagi.
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.