ldpis

LDP is reluctant to stop taking illegal donations: JCP Ichida

The Liberal Democratic Party on February 10 published a report on the illegal political donations allegedly received by former LDP Nagasaki prefectural branch officials.

The report said that the truth of the incident was yet to be confirmed on the grounds that they were not allowed to meet the arrested LDP officials. It only stated that the two former LDP officials were arrested on suspicion of taking bribe money in violation of the Public Offices Election Law.

Concerning the allegations that Torashima Kazuo, LDP Nagasaki Prefectural Branch head and House of Representatives member, may have received money in illegal donations, the report said that he was not in a position to know about the money. As for the allegations about Kyuma Fumio, former LDP Nagasaki branch head and House of Representatives member, the report said that he was not involved in the present affair.

The report proposed several steps, ostensibly to stop illegal political donations, but the most important necessary provision, which is a ban on donations from companies that are awarded contracts for public works projects, was missing.

The two LDP officials allegedly received donations from a construction company which was awarded a contract from the Nagasaki prefectural office for public construction works at the time of the Nagasaki gubernatorial election in February 2002.

Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi on the day at a press conference said that the report shows that the LDP has neither the ability nor will to solve its problems and straighten itself out.

Referring to an LDP national meeting of prefectural secretaries in which many participants said there can be no lawful way of raising political funds if what they are doing is illegal, Ichida said that this shows that the LDP has been using loopholes in the law to collect money in illegal donations.

Ichida said that the four opposition parties are demanding that the Diet summon Kyuma and Torashima as unsworn witnesses to have all the facts disclosed. (end)