 Hashimoto's aide Muraoka indicted over covert 100 million yen dental donation The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office on September 26 indicted former Chief Cabinet Secretary Muraoka Kanezo, without taking him into custody, on charges of violating the Political Funds Control Law. Muraoka, who was vice chairman of the Hashimoto faction at the time, allegedly instructed the treasurer of the faction led by former Prime Minister Hashimoto Ryutaro not to include the 100 million yen donated by the political arm of the Japan Dental Association in the faction's financial report to the government. Former Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Nonaka Hiromu, former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, and LDP House of Councilors members President Aoki Mikio were present at the meeting whn the check for 100 million yen was donated. However, prosecutors decided not to indict them as charges against them are not sufficiently solid. Muraoka, who lost his House of Representatives seat in the November 2003 general election and ended his career as a politician, said that the charge is unfounded and that he will fight it in court. Commenting on the indictment on the same day, Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi said, "It stands to reason that Muraoka, the vice chairman of the Hashimoto faction, has been indicted on charges of instructing the treasurer not to report a particular donation for former Prime Minister Hashimoto. Since the dentists' political group's donation is believed to have been given to LDP members through the LDP's fund raising organization and LDP headquarters, the question involves not just the Hashimoto faction but the LDP as a whole. The Diet must summon those concerned to establish the facts and take steps to prevent another scandal." Ichida also stated that the scandal basically stems from a virtually unrestricted supply of donations of money from corporations and business organizations. He said that the JCP calls for a blanket ban on political donations from corporations and business organizations. (end) |