Japan LDP faction declares dissolution due to financial scandal
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Other parties, including the blocs of former Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, and former LDP Secretary-General, Toshihiro Nikai, and the faction headed by Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida until December 2023, had also announced their dissolution prior.
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Japan's prime minister and president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), raises his fist with the vice president of the LDP, secretary general of the LDP, and other party members during the party's annual convention in Japan, on February 26, 2023. (AP)
Japanese media reported today that amid an ongoing financial scandal, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) led by the party's chairman, Hiroshi Moriyama, has announced its dissolution.
It is noteworthy that there is no evidence indicating the party's involvement in the financial scandal regarding the funding scandal.
Other parties, including the blocs of former Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, and former LDP Secretary-General, Toshihiro Nikai, and the faction headed by Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida until December 2023, had also announced their dissolution prior.
Japenese media also stated that the heads of the two remaining factions — former Prime Minister Taro Aso and former Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi — have spoken in favor of preserving their blocs.
Japan's financial scandal
On January 7, Japanese prosecutors made the initial arrests in a funding scandal that led Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to replace four ministers last month, according to local reports.
Japanese media outlets reported that Yoshitaka Ikeda, a 57-year-old lawmaker from the ruling party, was detained on suspicion of violating the political funds control law.
According to reports, Ikeda, along with his 45-year-old secretary, who was also arrested, is under suspicion of receiving kickbacks totaling around 48 million yen ($330,000).
Last month, PM Kishida sacked the top government spokesperson, the trade minister, and two other ministers over a failure to report political funds as required by law. The arrests came after Tokyo public prosecutors raided offices belonging to the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) last month.
Reportedly disaffiliated from the LDP following his arrest, Ikeda was once part of the party's largest faction, previously led by the late ex-premier Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated last year. That said, all four former ministers who were dismissed last month were also members of the same faction.
It's noteworthy that prosecutors have reportedly been investigating five out of the six LDP factions for alleged unreported political funds. This includes interviewing officials responsible for the factions' accounts.
