Political Fund Scandal Rocks Japan's Ruling Party
The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Japan's ruling party, has been rocked by a political fund scandal that has resulted in disciplinary action against 39 lawmakers, including senior members of the Abe faction. This scandal has dealt a significant blow to the party and the Kishida administration.
The disciplinary measures were decided at a meeting of the Party Ethics Committee on April 4th. The LDP urged Ryu Shionoya, head of the Abe faction's executive board, and Hiroshige Seko, former secretary-general of the LDP's Upper House caucus, to leave the party. This is the second harshest punishment among the LDP's eight disciplinary measures, after expulsion.
Thirty-six lawmakers from the Abe and Nikai factions were punished for failing to report 5 million yen ($33,000) or more in revenues from their faction's fund-raising parties on their political fund reports over the five years through 2022. Shionoya, Shimomura, and Nishimura were penalized for jeopardizing public trust in politics, although their underreported amount was less than 5 million yen.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and other party executives believe that Shionoya, Seko, Shimomura, and Nishimura deserve severe punishments because they could have stopped the Abe faction's practice of distributing proceeds from the ticket sales. In April 2022, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe instructed the four lawmakers to end the practice. However, the faction decided to continue after a meeting in August of that year.
The scandal has raised questions about the moral and political responsibility of Prime Minister Kishida, who was not punished even though a former accounting official of his faction received a summary indictment for failing to report fund-raising party revenues. Faction leader Toshihiro Nikai also escaped punishment after announcing he will not seek re-election in the next Lower House election. His aide was charged for failing to report 35.26 million yen in fund-raising party revenues.
This scandal has significantly damaged the public's trust in the LDP and the Kishida administration. It remains to be seen how the party will address these issues and regain the public's confidence.