Japan Press Weekly

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2007 September 26 - October 2 [POLITICS]

Many cabinet ministers held accountable for dubious fund management

In only less than a week after the Fukuda cabinet was formed, many scandals involving cabinet ministers, including Prime Minister Fukuda Yasuo, have been exposed.

When assuming office, Fukuda expressed his determination to respond to the public distrust in politics, stating, “I intend to fully carry out my responsibility to provide a sufficient explanation.” How is the Fukuda cabinet going to explain the following problems?

Education Minister

Education Minister Tokai Kisaburo’s Liberal Democratic Party branch received a total of two million yen in donations during the 2003 and 2005 elections from a construction company that had been awarded contracts for public works projects.

The Public Office Election Law prohibits companies that are awarded public works contracts from giving donations to politicians during elections and politicians from receiving their money.

Defense Minister

A political fund managing organization and an LDP branch both headed by Defense Minister Ishiba Shigeru corrected their political funds reports on September 25, the day the Fukuda Cabinet was inaugurated.

Ishiba gave his political fund managing organization 10.5 million yen in donations, an amount exceeding the ceiling set by the Political Funds Control Law.

Chief Cabinet Secretary

Chief Cabinet Secretary Machimura Nobutaka’s political fund managing organization since 2002 has reported a building next to Machimura’s home in Hokkaido as its asset worth 10 million yen. Its 2001 political funds report claimed the same amount of expenditure as construction expenses for the building.

Machimura owns this building, although at present his secretary is living in it. This means that Machimura used his political funds to build his own building under the guise of housing for his secretary.

Administrative Reform Minister

Regulatory Minister Watanabe Yoshimi’s LDP branch paid a company owned by his relative a total of 8.3 million yen of rent in 11 years by using government subsidies to political parties. This amounts to diverting tax money to profit-making for his relative.

Land Minister

Land Minister Fuyushiba Tetsuzo’s political funds managing organization and a Komei Party branch headed by him received a total of 300,000 yen in donations from a construction company that was involved in a collusive bidding scheme in the Hirakata City government (Osaka Pref.). After the company’s president was arrested, Fuyushiba returned the money and corrected the political funds reports.

Others

The following ministers also made corrections to their political funds reports or financial statements:

State Minister Kishida Fumio, Finance Minister Nukaga Fukushiro, Foreign Minister Komura Masahiko, State Minister Kamikawa Yoko, Agriculture Minister Wakabayashi Masatoshi, Internal Affairs Minister Masuda Hiroya, and Trade Minister Amari Akira.