Japan Press Weekly

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2013 July 3 - 9 [POLITICS]

LDP media campaigns made possible by tax subsidies

Liberal Democratic Party advertisements have been broadcast on TV, radio, and the Internet since the Upper House election campaign kicked off. The money for the paid advertisements come from tax-funded government subsidies which each citizen, from babies to the elderly, annually pays 250 yen for, irrespective of what political party they are in favor of.

This fiscal year, 14.55 billion yen in the government subsidy will go to the LDP, likewise 8.53 billion yen to the Democratic Party of Japan, 2.72 billion yen to the Japan Restoration Party, 2.56 billion yen to the Komei Party, 1.72 billion yen to the Your Party, and 820 million yen to the People’s Life Party.

In FY 2011, the percentage of funding provided from tax revenues out of the party’s total income is 72.5% for the LDP, 83.2% for the DPJ, 17.9% for the Komei, and 96.8% for the Your Party. The JRP is planning to cover 94.1% of its budget with the government subsidy. They are thus the very definition of “state-subsidized” political parties.

The system of government subsidies to political parties took effect in 1995 as an alternative to the limit put on political donations from corporations and other political interest organizations in response to the frequent bribery scandals involving political donations occurring at that time. Many political parties, however, still continue accepting both state funds and contributions from business enterprises.

For example, an LDP branch headed by Prime Minister Abe Shinzo in his hometown collected 33.63million yen in political donations from businesses and vested-interest lobbying groups in FY 2011 along with the six million yen in government funds given to the branch.

Dual-funds receiving parties often compete with each other for cuts in the number of Diet seats as a way to supposedly reduce tax spending, but they never mention their own dependence on the tax subsidy.

A 180-seat-cut in the Diet as they call for will save about 12 billion yen in tax revenues, while the abolition of the system of government subsidies to political parties will provide 32-billion-yen savings a year.

The Japanese Communist Party consistently refuses to accept corporate or organizational donations as well as the state subsidy because these are in violation of the constitutional right to the freedom of thought and creed. The JCP handles its finance on its own through party membership dues, Akahata subscription fees, publication of books, and individual donations from party members and supporters.

Next time you see PM Abe on TV commercials and you are not an LDP supporter, keep in mind that the CM is made with the help of your money.

Related past articles:
> Huge increase in Gov’t subsidy to LDP[May 17, 2013]
> JRP, itself heavily dependent on gov’t funds, calls for cuts in funding for needy[April 5, 2013]