 Shii criticizes money-driven politics of big parties Japanese Communist Party Executive Committee Chair Shii Kazuo said that neither the ruling Liberal Democratic Party nor the opposition Democratic Party can unravel the scandal involving the political donation to former Prime Minister Hashimoto Ryutaro's faction from the powerful Japan Dental Association. This is because both the LDP and DPJ accept corporate money and use public associations for their election campaigns, Shii pointed out at a news conference on February 9. Shii also pointed out that these two parties have a weakness in depending on tax money provided in the form of political party subsidy (which the Japanese Communist Party refuses to accept). Shii said, "The essence of the JDA scandal is that it is bribery in which money influences politics. And donations from corporations and other special interest groups are essentially bribery too. Their competition for contributions from the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) must be called into question." He further said, "The JCP firmly stands for a total ban on corporate donations and on the use of corporations or public associations as tools for election campaign, and the calls for the elimination of the political party subsidy system. We call for substantial discussion of these issues to be held in parliament." (end) |