May 13, 2011
Editorial (excerpts)
The Democratic Party of Japan-led government has had three chief cabinet secretaries so far who have been doing exactly the same thing as their predecessors in the former Liberal Democratic and Komei government: refusing to disclose how they have used the cabinet secretariat’s secret funds.
In answer to an inquiry submitted by Japanese Communist Party Dietmember Shiokawa Tetsuya, the Kan Cabinet announced that the secret fund spent in the last fiscal year amounts to 1.23 billion yen, about the same amount annually used by the former LDP-Komei government.
‘Backdoor money’
The chief cabinet secretary is allowed to use the secret fund at his/her own discretion under the pretext of policy promotion or information research. The way in which the fund is used is not even checked by the Board of Audit. Successive cabinets, either led by the LDP or the DPJ, have refused to make public how they have spent the secret money on the grounds that the release of such information would “undermine national interests.”
However, JCP investigation along with the testimonies of former chief cabinet secretaries have revealed certain facts about the cabinet’s fund, which is often referred to as “backdoor money.”
A record obtained and disclosed by JCP Chair Shii Kazuo in 2002 showed that some of the secret state funds had been used to purchase tickets for politicians’ fund-raising parties, gift certificates, and expensive men’s suits, suggesting the cabinet’s intent to deepen cozy ties between ruling and opposition forces. As Nonaka Hiromu, former chief cabinet secretary under the LDP government, testified that it was the custom to send seasonal gifts to well-known political analysts, the cabinet secretariat’s maneuvering covers even people outside the Diet building.
A vast amount of money has been freely used by the cabinet secretariat in order to help get bills enacted and or to influence mass media. The fund of course comes from the people’s tax money.
On March 17, right after the massive disaster hit northern Japan, 30 million yen of the secret fund was requested. Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano Yukio stated on April 14 at an Upper House Cabinet Committee meeting that the fund is being effectively used to support disaster victims.
However, why does the government have to hide the use of tax money if it is really for the sake of disaster sufferers?
Against DPJ platform
When it was an opposition party, the DPJ was calling for the disclosure of information related to the secret state fund. Even after the party took power, former Prime Minister Hatoyama Yukio promised in March 2010 that his cabinet will release all such information. The DPJ-led government should make good on its own promise.
The Democratic Party of Japan-led government has had three chief cabinet secretaries so far who have been doing exactly the same thing as their predecessors in the former Liberal Democratic and Komei government: refusing to disclose how they have used the cabinet secretariat’s secret funds.
In answer to an inquiry submitted by Japanese Communist Party Dietmember Shiokawa Tetsuya, the Kan Cabinet announced that the secret fund spent in the last fiscal year amounts to 1.23 billion yen, about the same amount annually used by the former LDP-Komei government.
‘Backdoor money’
The chief cabinet secretary is allowed to use the secret fund at his/her own discretion under the pretext of policy promotion or information research. The way in which the fund is used is not even checked by the Board of Audit. Successive cabinets, either led by the LDP or the DPJ, have refused to make public how they have spent the secret money on the grounds that the release of such information would “undermine national interests.”
However, JCP investigation along with the testimonies of former chief cabinet secretaries have revealed certain facts about the cabinet’s fund, which is often referred to as “backdoor money.”
A record obtained and disclosed by JCP Chair Shii Kazuo in 2002 showed that some of the secret state funds had been used to purchase tickets for politicians’ fund-raising parties, gift certificates, and expensive men’s suits, suggesting the cabinet’s intent to deepen cozy ties between ruling and opposition forces. As Nonaka Hiromu, former chief cabinet secretary under the LDP government, testified that it was the custom to send seasonal gifts to well-known political analysts, the cabinet secretariat’s maneuvering covers even people outside the Diet building.
A vast amount of money has been freely used by the cabinet secretariat in order to help get bills enacted and or to influence mass media. The fund of course comes from the people’s tax money.
On March 17, right after the massive disaster hit northern Japan, 30 million yen of the secret fund was requested. Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano Yukio stated on April 14 at an Upper House Cabinet Committee meeting that the fund is being effectively used to support disaster victims.
However, why does the government have to hide the use of tax money if it is really for the sake of disaster sufferers?
Against DPJ platform
When it was an opposition party, the DPJ was calling for the disclosure of information related to the secret state fund. Even after the party took power, former Prime Minister Hatoyama Yukio promised in March 2010 that his cabinet will release all such information. The DPJ-led government should make good on its own promise.
