Japan Press Weekly

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2017 March 29 - April 4 [POLITICS]

Amount of state subsidy for LDP reaches record high

The Internal Affairs Ministry on April 3 announced the amount of state subsidies to be provided to each political party in 2017. A total of 31.7 billion yen will be distributed to eligible political parties, with the exception of the Japanese Communist Party which refuses to accept the subsidy, based on requirements such as the number of Dietmembers holding office.

The Liberal Democratic Party, which increased its seats in the 2016 House of Councilors election, will receive 17.6 billion yen, up 1.1% from the previous year, which is a record high since the subsidy program started in 1995. The subsidy will be 8.7 billion yen (down 6.7%) for the Democratic Party and one billion yen (up 42.6%) for the Nippon Ishin no Kai party.

The JCP insists that the program to subsidize political parties violates people’s right to freedom of thought and belief because the program uses funds from taxpayers regardless of their political affiliation. The JCP also criticizes the funding system for causing a dependence on state funding by political parties. Demanding the abolition of the subsidy program, the JCP has always refused accept the subsidy payment.

The amounts of subsidies for other political parties are: the Komei Party, 3.1 billion yen; the Liberal Party, 398 million yen; the Social Democratic Party, 395 million yen; and the Party for Japanese Kokoro, 493 million yen.

Past related articles:
> Political parties, with exception of JCP, continue to accept state subsides amid ongoing quake disaster in Kyushu [April 22, 2016]
> LDP will enjoy record amount of state subsidies [April 11, 2015]
> JCP submits bill to abolish state subsidy for political parties [January 27, 2015]