Prime Minister Fumio Kishida addressed the need for transparency in political funding during the ongoing Diet session. He committed to revising laws to ensure clearer accountability within his ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
Following concerns raised by the main opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, Kishida acknowledged the LDP's interim report on political reforms. He affirmed that consultations with other parties would take place for legal revisions.
In response to opposition parties' demands, the LDP provided a list on February 5th showing corrections made by members of the Abe and Nikai factions to their political fund reports. The list covered three years from 2020, including corrected amounts.
However, criticism arose from the opposition parties as they demanded a more comprehensive list covering five years and including all LDP lawmakers. They highlighted that the amounts for the full period would be considerably larger, especially given the Upper House election held in 2019.
Furthermore, the opposition parties emphasized the need for transparency in how the funds were utilized, expressing dissatisfaction with the limited information provided by the LDP.