December 13, 2023

The Japanese Communist Party on December 12 took to the streets near Yurakucho Station in Tokyo and appealed for the need to conduct a thorough investigation into the scandal in which LDP factions have created off-the-book funds from fundraising party revenues. It also called for a total ban on political donations from corporations and organizations.

The slush funds scandal surfaced after an Akahata Sunday edition scoop reported that five major LDP factions have unreported part of incomes from fundraising party ticket sales.

Together with JCP Secretariat Head Koike Akira, JCP members of the House of Representatives Kokuta Keiji, Kasai Akira, Tamura Takaaki, Miyamoto Takeshi, and Miyamoto Toru as well as JCP members of the House of Councilors Kurabayashi Akiko and Yamazoe Taku called on the passersby to support the JCP demand.

Using a microphone, Koike said, “The LDP, while imposing financial burdens on the general public, has devoted itself to raising secret slush funds. Let us work together to put an end to the LDP’s corrupt politics.”

Koike pointed out that in addition to the LDP faction led by former Prime Minister Abe, the unreported fund scandal includes other LDP factions: the Shisuikai led by the party’s former secretary general Nikai (Nikai faction), the Shikokai led by the party’s vice president Aso (Aso faction) and the Kochikai led by PM Kishida (Kishida faction). He said, “This means that the LDP has systematically used a tactic of underreporting part of the income of fundraisers to generate off-the-book funds. The need is to root out the LDP-style ‘money-for-politics.’”

Stating that the most urgent task is to dig deep to get to the bottom, Koike said that all scandal-hit officials of the LDP Abe faction should be summoned before the Diet as sworn witnesses in order to clarify who began creating the slush funds, when, and for what purposes.

Koike said that the JCP will make every effort to increase public movement with the aim of enacting the JCP-proposed bill to impose a total ban on political donations from corporations and organizations, including the purchase of political fundraising party tickets.

Past related article:
> JCP submits bill to restrict fundraiser ticket sales [December 6, 2023]