Japan Press Weekly

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2007 August 22 - 28 [SCANDAL]

Minister-wannabes in haste correct their political funds reports

Akahata has learned that as of August 23, nine Dietmembers of the Liberal Democratic Party have hastily corrected political funds reports of their fund-management organizations apparently in view of the cabinet reshuffle that Prime Minister Abe Shinzo is planning to announce on August 27.

This rush of correction itself revealed how dubious LDP Dietmembers’ political funds reports are.

Amid the strong public criticism of corruption of Abe Cabinet members shown in the recent House of Councilors election, LDP Secretary General Nakagawa Hidenao instructed LDP Dietmembers to check their political funds reports. He said, “If anyone fails the test, that Dietmember should give up being appointed cabinet minister.”

The nine LDP Dietmembers are former Defense Agency Director General Eto Seishiro, former Health, Labor, and Welfare Minister Kawasaki Jiro, former Environment Minister Suzuki Shun’ichi, former Administrative Reform Minister Kaneko Kazuyoshi, former Finance Minister Tanigaki Sadakazu, former Vice-Minister of Health, Labor, and Welfare Miyaji Kazuaki, LDP House of Councilors Secretary General Yamazaki Masaaki, House of Representatives member Suzuki Tsuneo, and House of Representatives member Tanigawa Yaichi. Most are reportedly candidates for ministerial posts.

Five out of these nine LDP lawmakers changed items of expenses, from “office expenses” to “utilities” or the other way around, from “organizational activity expenses” to “office expenses” or “equipments and supplies,” and from “office expenses” to “personnel expenses.”

Confusion over items of expenses rarely occurs, and such corrections indicate that they made false reports in violation of the Political Funds Control Law.

While former Environment Minister Suzuki used his rent-free office in the Dietmembers Office Building as an office for his fund-management organization, he reported more than 30 million yen as “office expenses.” After Nakagawa ordered the recheck, Suzuki reduced his 2005 “office expenses” by more than 20 million yen to 7.5 million yen, and at the same time increased his 2005 “organizational activity expenses” by 16 million yen. In addition, he reported that all these newly added “organizational activity expenses” were less than 50,000 yen each, thus not requiring receipts.

In the wake of the LDP’s historic defeat in the recent election, Nakagawa proposed that all political organizations attach receipts for all expenses. Many in the LDP, however, are raising objections against this proposal.
- Akahata, August 24, 2007