NAGOYA - A political group headed by Aichi Gov. Hideaki Omura distributed copies of a book he authored for free in 2020, in a possible violation of the Public Offices Election Act that prohibits donations to voters, it has been learned.
According to the political funding reports of the group, Shuseikai, the group published Omura's book titled Start-up kokoku-ron in October 2020, and purchased 1,000 copies of the title priced at 1,540 yen about $13.50 each from a bookstore to distribute them to participants of a political fundraising party for Omura.
The party was canceled due to the spread of the coronaviruses. The group said it distributed 200 to 300 copies of the book free of charge to Omura's supporters. Some of the recipients were reported to have paid for the publication.
While supporters residing in prefectures such as Tokyo, Gifu and Aichi received the book, an official of the group said they didn't remember any further details about the recipients. We wanted them to read the book because they made contributions to us the official explained. We were unaware that it could be considered a donation. The act of distributing books and other materials to voters may infringe on the Public Offices Election Act even if recipients are supporters who have made political contributions, according to the Aichi prefectural election administration commission.
Professor Hiroshi Kamiwaki at Kobe Gakuin University, an expert in political funding issues, said it is highly likely that the case constitutes a donation forbidden under the Public Offices Election Act, as the copies of the book were not handed out at a political fundraiser, in which case it would have been obvious that the book distribution was in return for purchases of party tickets.