Japan Press Weekly

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2024 November 27 - December 3 [POLITICS]

Shiokawa: Cornerstone of political reform is implementing total ban on political donations from businesses and interest groups

Japanese Communist Party Diet Policy Commission Chair Shiokawa Tetsuya, at a meeting on political reform attended by seven parties on November 26 in the Diet building, expressed his opinion that the cornerstone of political reform is implementing a total ban on political donations from corporations and other interest organizations.

Representatives of each party expressed their views on political reform, but only the Liberal Democratic Party did not mention the ban on donations from for-profit entities.

Shiokawa stated that corporations which do not have the right to vote use large sums of money to influence policies, and that this represents an infringement of the people’s suffrage. He said that the cornerstone of political reform is the enactment of a law prohibiting all business establishments and other interest groups from making political donations since this money essentially constitutes “bribes” to politicians.

In the first place, the source of the LDP factions’ controversial slush funds was money from corporations and organizations. Shiokawa pointed out that the purchase of political fundraising party tickets is a form of corporate/organizational donation. He stressed that closing the two loopholes - ticket purchases by corporations and organizations and political donations from corporations and organizations - should be the top agenda in the debate pertinent to political reform.

Shiokawa cited that the explanation by the former Abe faction’s treasurer over the kickback money differs from that by faction leaders. He also cited the Ishiba faction’s alleged off-the-book money scandal. He said that a full investigation into these allegations is necessary through summoning of sworn witnesses to testify at the extraordinary session of the Diet and at the Political Ethics Hearing Committee.