LDP Proposes Political Fund Control Law Revisions, But Critics Remain Unsatisfied
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in Japan has released its proposals for revising the Political Fund Control Law in response to the recent unreported funds scandal. However, the proposals have drawn criticism for not addressing several key issues.
One of the main proposals is the introduction of "letters of confirmation" to ensure the accuracy of political fund balance reports. These letters would be issued by lawmakers after reviewing the reports prepared by accounting officials. Additionally, if accounting officials are found guilty of misstatements, their lawmaker bosses would also face punishment, including the suspension of their civil rights.
This "guilty-by-association" system was initially met with resistance within the LDP, but the party changed its stance due to heavy criticism. The scandal involved LDP factions returning unreported funds to individual lawmakers, leading to accusations that politicians were evading responsibility.
To address this, the LDP proposal requires lawmakers to actively check and confirm the fund reports. However, critics point out that the proposal lacks specifics on how this confirmation process should be carried out.
Another criticism is the lack of external audits for income related to political organizations. Currently, only expenditures are subject to external audits. The LDP proposal includes income in the audit scope, but it does not establish a third-party organization to conduct these audits, as demanded by opposition parties.
Furthermore, the LDP proposal does not address long-standing calls for stricter regulations, such as a ban on corporate donations and mandatory disclosure of policy activity funds.
With the current Diet session underway, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida aims to revise the law. However, significant differences remain between the LDP's proposal and those of its coalition partner, Komeito, and opposition parties, making the negotiation process potentially difficult.