A survey conducted by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) revealed significant irregularities in the political fund reports of its members. Out of 384 respondents, 82 sitting Diet members were found to have incorrectly reported their political funds between 2018 and 2022.
The unreported and misreported funds totaled 567.8 million yen ($3.8 million). The most significant discrepancies were found among members of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's faction, with a total of 76 members reporting errors amounting to 476.63 million yen.
The faction of former LDP Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai was also implicated, with six members reporting errors totaling 91.18 million yen. Nikai himself had the highest individual amount of unreported funds, at 35.26 million yen.
Other notable individuals with large amounts of unreported funds included Hiromi Mitsubayashi (29.54 million yen), Koichi Hagiuda (27.28 million yen), and Eriko Yamatani (24.03 million yen).
The LDP's General Council Chair, Hiroshi Moriyama, emphasized the importance of accurate political fund reporting, stating that it is essential for earning public trust. The party plans to further investigate the matter by interviewing members believed to be involved in the creation of slush funds, which are suspected to have originated from excess ticket sales at fundraising events.