Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has declared that he will not dissolve the Lower House and call for a snap election until a money scandal involving lawmakers within his ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is resolved.
During the Upper House Budget Committee session on March 18, Tetsuro Fukuyama of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan expressed concern that dissolving the Lower House before disciplinary measures were taken would betray the public's trust. Kishida responded firmly, stating that he had no intention of dissolving the Lower House before disciplinary actions were implemented.
Kishida emphasized his commitment to passing legislation that would revise the Political Fund Control Law to prevent the recurrence of unreported funds gained through LDP faction fund-raising parties. He also noted that prominent lawmaker Hakubun Shimomura had appeared before a deliberative council on political ethics, becoming the ninth LDP member to do so.
Shimomura claimed ignorance of the decades-old practice of returning accumulated funds to faction members, despite his previous position as secretary-general of the Abe faction. He stated that decisions regarding these returns were made by the faction head and an underling.
Shimomura received a total of 4.76 million yen from the Abe faction between 2018 and 2022, but expressed surprise upon learning its origin in April 2022. A meeting involving former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and high-ranking faction members, including Shimomura, was held at that time.
The LDP factions have since disbanded, and Abe is said to have called for an end to the practice. However, no decision was made by other faction officials after his murder in July 2022.