Accountants in Japan's ruling party face house arrest
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As the kickback scandal unfolds in Japan, investigators from the Public Prosecutor's Office are reportedly taking significant actions.
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Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida answers to reporters at his office in Tokyo Monday, December 11, 2023. (AP)
Investigators from Japan's Public Prosecutors Office intend to impose house arrest on accountants associated with two prominent factions of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), as part of the ongoing kickback scandal in the country, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported.
The investigative focus is on two factions, those previously led by ex-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and former LDP Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai. Reports from December 2023 suggested suspicions that these factions had not reported a cumulative revenue of 600 million yen ($4.141 million) over the past five years.
However, the alleged amount has now increased to a total of 800 million yen ($5.506 million), according to NHK. The report further indicated that Abe's faction is specifically suspected of concealing 600 million yen, while Nikai's faction is suspected of hiding 200 million yen ($1.380 million).
During questioning by prosecutors, accountants from both factions acknowledged that the funds were accounted for in the documents, as per the report. In response to this, a dedicated unit within the prosecutor's office is considering imposing house arrest on the accountants, suspecting them of breaching the law related to the regulation of political funds.
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NHK reported that in December 2023, Tokyo prosecutors questioned five senior members of Abe's faction regarding their failure to declare additional fundraising income. The individuals questioned included former Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, former LDP Diet Affairs Committee Chairperson Tsuyoshi Takagi, former LDP Upper House Secretary-General Hiroshige Seko, former Education Minister Ryu Shionoya, and former LDP Policy Research Council Chairperson Koichi Hagiuda. Subsequently, all of them relinquished their positions due to the scandal.
The controversy involving the underreported funds of Japan's LDP surfaced in early December. Allegedly, five factions within the ruling party received undisclosed funds during different fundraising occasions. To counteract corruption, Japanese law stipulates that if the funds gathered at a single event surpass 200,000 yen, the names of donors and the amounts raised must be documented in a reporting book.
Nevertheless, the inquiry into the matter indicated that the ruling party purportedly failed to account for all the funds collected, both in the income records of the politicians and in its reporting book. Furthermore, it has been alleged that if a politician amassed more than the prescribed limit of 1 million yen, they reportedly received a kickback for the surplus, and these amounts were also purportedly not documented in party records or the reporting book.
