October 21, 2012
The Japanese Communist Party’s efforts are contributing to improvement of accountability and transparency on the use of subsidies given by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to its assembly members.
The revision of the Local Autonomy Act in 2000 enabled local governments to establish a system to subsidize their assembly members’ political research. Under the Tokyo government’s system, each of the Tokyo assemblymen receive 600,000 yen a month as a subsidy for policy research activities. The money was dubbed “assembly members’ bonus salaries” because the Tokyo government allowed assembly members and their political parties to submit a report on items of payment from the subsidy without the need for receipts.
An ex-Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker said that the subsidy was available for any use because there was no obligation to include receipts for expenditures.
Since the system was created in 2001, the JCP in the Tokyo Assembly has claimed that the use of the policy research subsidy should be made transparent. The JCP has presented to the assembly a bill six times since 2001 to revise the Tokyo ordinance regarding the policy research subsidy system to one requiring political parties to prove the legitimate use of the subsidy with receipts. After the 2005 assembly election, the JCP voluntarily published information about its lawmakers’ use of policy research subsidies with receipts for expenditures.
In 2006, a national group of citizens’ ombudsman announced that Tokyo occupied the bottom rank among 47 prefectures in disclosing information about assembly members’ use of tax money for supposed political research. This attracted nationwide attention.
Pushed by the JCP efforts and growing public criticism, the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly in 2010 began to publish each political party’s report on policy research grants with receipts dating back to the FY 2009.
JCP Tokyo Assembly member Shimizu Hideko said, “We will work hard to improve the system to further increase the transparency.”
The revision of the Local Autonomy Act in 2000 enabled local governments to establish a system to subsidize their assembly members’ political research. Under the Tokyo government’s system, each of the Tokyo assemblymen receive 600,000 yen a month as a subsidy for policy research activities. The money was dubbed “assembly members’ bonus salaries” because the Tokyo government allowed assembly members and their political parties to submit a report on items of payment from the subsidy without the need for receipts.
An ex-Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker said that the subsidy was available for any use because there was no obligation to include receipts for expenditures.
Since the system was created in 2001, the JCP in the Tokyo Assembly has claimed that the use of the policy research subsidy should be made transparent. The JCP has presented to the assembly a bill six times since 2001 to revise the Tokyo ordinance regarding the policy research subsidy system to one requiring political parties to prove the legitimate use of the subsidy with receipts. After the 2005 assembly election, the JCP voluntarily published information about its lawmakers’ use of policy research subsidies with receipts for expenditures.
In 2006, a national group of citizens’ ombudsman announced that Tokyo occupied the bottom rank among 47 prefectures in disclosing information about assembly members’ use of tax money for supposed political research. This attracted nationwide attention.
Pushed by the JCP efforts and growing public criticism, the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly in 2010 began to publish each political party’s report on policy research grants with receipts dating back to the FY 2009.
JCP Tokyo Assembly member Shimizu Hideko said, “We will work hard to improve the system to further increase the transparency.”
