Japan Press Weekly

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2014 March 26 - April 1 [POLITICS]

‘Third pole’ Your Party actually serves interests of private company

The fact that Your Party’s leader had borrowed an extraordinarily large amount of money from a private company revealed that the so-called “third pole” political force is in no position to call for a change in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party-type policies heavily influenced by business interests.

Yoshida Yoshiaki, chairman of the major cosmetics company, DHC, contributed a first-person account for the Weekly Shincho magazine that went on sale on March 26. In that account, Yoshida stated that he lent a total of 800 million yen to Your Party Chair Watanabe Yoshimi between 2010 and 2012.

Watanabe admitted on March 27 that he received the money and explained to reporters that he borrowed it as a “personal loan”, not as election campaign funds.

According to Yoshida, Watanabe first received 300 million yen from him on June 30, 2010. The following month, 10 candidates of Your Party won their seats in the House of Councilors election. Watanabe then borrowed another 500 million yen on November 21, 2012. The next month, his party obtained 18 seats in the House of Representatives election.

Given that both times the party leader received the money just before national elections, it seems more likely that the money was used as campaign funds. Neither the political funds reports nor the income-expenditure reports for the two elections Watanabe filed to state authorities list such loans, which may constitute a violation of laws.

Watanabe told reporters that he consulted each time with Yoshida regarding the talks on joining forces with the right-wing Japan Restoration Party and how to deal with defectors of his party.

Your Party, which made its appearance in 2009 claiming that it will “carry out policies free from any fetters”, has been shown to be a cat’s-paw of a private business.

Past related article:
> ‘Complementary opposition parties’ court government favor [March 31, 2014]