Japan Press Weekly

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2007 September 12 - 18 [POLITICS]

With relaxing of restrictions on foreign-owned corporations, Canon donated 40 million yen to LDP

No sooner was a ban on foreign-owned corporations’ political donations lifted in 2006 than Canon Inc., led by Mitarai Fujio who chairs the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren), made for the first time a political donation of 40 million yen to the Liberal Democratic Party, according to the 2006 political funds reports released on September 14.

In reply to an Akahata inquiry, Canon revealed that it made the donation between December 25 when the adversely revised Political Fund Control Law came into force and December 31.

In order to prevent foreign influence on Japan’s politics and election results, the law prohibited corporations with 50 percent or more of its shares owned by foreigners or foreign corporations from making political donations.

Canon’s rate of foreign-owned shares in FY 2005 reached 51.01 percent. While Mitarai as the JBF chair urges other companies to make political donations, his company was unable to do so. It was in this situation that the LDP, Komei Party, and DPJ adversely revised the law to enable foreign-owned corporations listed on Japan’s stock exchange for more than five years to make political donations.

The amount of Canon’s donations, 40 million yen, ranked second, following Toyota Motors 64 million yen donation.