Japan Press Weekly

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2014 April 2 - 8 [POLITICS]

Your Party should account for Y800 million received: JCP Yamashita

Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Yamashita Yoshiki on April 7 said that Watanabe Yoshimi stepping down as Your Party head should take responsibility for a money scandal by making full public disclosure.

Your Party leader Watanabe earlier on the same day stated that he will resign to take the blame for the 800 million yen he borrowed from the CEO of a cosmetics company but will stay on as a Dietmember.

Yamashita at a press conference released a comment stating that Watanabe should explain to the public what purposes he used the money for and what purposes the funder provided such an enormous amount of funding for. The comment also asserts that the Your Party itself is responsible for uncovering the facts behind the scandal.

The JCP spokesman said, “Watanabe’s decision to resign as the party chief cannot draw a curtain on that issue.”

It first came to light in a weekly magazine article that Watanabe had borrowed 300 million yen just prior to the House of Councilors election in June 2010 and another 500 million yen prior to the House of Representatives race in November 2012 from the chairman of the cosmetics firm, DHC Corporation, Yoshida Yoshiaki.

Watanabe said that the 800 million yen was justifiably not recorded in the political funds reports because the money was his private loans.

However, if it is found that he spent the borrowed money on elections or political activities, he will face a charge of violating the Public Offices Election Law or the Political Funds Control Law.

When stating to reporters his intention to resign as the party head, Watanabe said that he paid off all the unpaid debts of 550 million yen and that it is perfectly legal.

It appears that he will deal with the situation just by refiling his personal assets report on which false statements are exempt from penalties.

The Your Party this year is going to receive two billion yen in total in taxpayer money as the government subsidy to the party. The DHC chair in a Jiji Press interview on March 28 said that he had believed that Watanabe will pay back the debts from that subsidy.

Past related article:
> ‘Third pole’ Your Party actually serves interests of private company [March 29, 2014]