## Prime Minister Kishida Interviews Senior Lawmakers in Political Fund Scandal
Ryu Shionoya, Hakubun Shimomura, Hiroshige Seko, and Yasutoshi Nishimura.
These four individuals were involved in a meeting in August 2022 where they discussed the practice of returning part of proceeds from the faction's fund-raising parties to member lawmakers. This practice was previously stopped by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in April 2022, but the faction decided to continue it after his death.
During the interviews, Kishida is seeking to clarify the decision-making process behind the continuation of the practice. All four lawmakers have denied any knowledge about the decision, but a senior LDP official believes that someone among them could have called for scrapping it.
The interviews are expected to lead to severe disciplinary measures for the four lawmakers, possibly including suspension of party membership and non-endorsement in elections. These measures would be implemented in early April.
The political fund scandal has already resulted in charges against former accounting officials of the Abe, Nikai, and Kishida factions, as well as three Abe faction lawmakers who received large amounts of unreported political funds. In response to the scandal, former LDP secretary-general Toshihiro Nikai has announced that he will not seek re-election in the next Lower House election.
While some expected the four interviewed lawmakers to follow Nikai's example, at least one remains defiant, arguing that any disciplinary measures should be based on evidence rather than public opinion.