Japan Press Weekly

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2009 March 18 - 24 [POLITICS]

Democratic Party leader must be held accountable for three past actions before calling for ban on corporate donations

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo at a press conference on March 19 made the following comment on Democratic Party of Japan President Ozawa Ichiro’s call for a ban on political donations by corporations and other organizations.

Banning corporations and any other organizations from making political donations is important. That is exactly what the JCP has been calling for. However, there are at least three things which DPJ President Ozawa must do before he calls for it.

First of all, Mr. Ozawa throughout the many years of his political career has accepted huge amounts of donations from public works contractors. At the March 4 press conference he even said, “I’ve received more donations than I deserve.” He should explain to the public whether he considers it appropriate to have accepted them.

Secondly, Mr. Ozawa has not told the truth about the allegation that he accepted illegal donations from Nishimatsu Construction through fictitious political action groups. It is clear that he should be held accountable for the transactions and make full public disclosure.

Lastly, if Mr. Ozawa is seriously calling for corporate and organizational donations to be prohibited, he should be the first to pledge that he no longer will accept such donations. And the DPJ also needs to make clear that it will refuse to accept such donations.

The JCP has not accepted corporate or organizational donations even though they are not prohibited by law. This can be done by parties’ and politicians’ own judgments without the need for legal restrictions.

These are the steps that Mr. Ozawa at least should first take. Then he will be qualified to propose a ban on corporate and organizational donations.