Japan Press Weekly

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2011 March 9 - 15 [SCANDAL]

Illegal fund for PM Kan discovered

A fund management body of Prime Minister Kan Naoto has turned out to be the recipient of funds donated reportedly by a foreigner, which is prohibited under the Political Funds Control Law.

The prime minister in a House of Councilors Audit committee meeting on March 11 acknowledged receipt of the funds, but said that he had not known that the donor was a foreigner. PM Kan added that he wants to return the money if the donor’s foreign nationality is confirmed.

Only a week ago, ex-Foreign Minister Maehara Seiji resigned for receiving political donations from a foreigner.

It has been confirmed that a man, reported to be South Korean, donated a total of 1.04 million yen between 2006 and 2009 to PM Kan’s fund-managing body.

Asked by reporters to comment on the news the same day, Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi said, “The most important thing for the prime minister to do is to reveal all the facts before the people and to establish the truth.”