The Diet initiated substantive discussions on Thursday regarding bills presented by both the ruling and opposition parties aimed at amending the Political Funds Control Law.
Following the revelation of a “slush fund” scandal involving the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who also serves as the LDP president, seeks to enact revisions to the law during the ongoing ordinary Diet session, scheduled to conclude in June.
However, amidst mounting criticism from the opposition, particularly directed at the LDP-proposed bill, the path to passage for these revisions remains unclear.
During the session of the Special Committee on Political Reform in the House of Representatives, Keisuke Suzuki of the LDP emphasized the necessity of implementing stringent measures to prevent the recurrence of similar issues. Suzuki highlighted that the LDP’s bill proposes the inclusion of a confirmation letter by lawmakers with their political funds reports, aiming to establish a system that enables direct oversight by lawmakers and leaves no room for excuses.
Additionally, the LDP bill seeks to enhance transparency by lowering the threshold for disclosing information about purchasers of tickets to fundraising events to ¥100,000 per event, down from the current ¥200,000 threshold. Hisayuki Fujii, another LDP lawmaker, underscored that the proposed threshold adjustment would provide a clearer standard.
Addressing concerns about policy activity funds, Suzuki explained that the LDP’s bill mandates the categorization of fund utilization in political funds reports, ensuring a rigorous process to identify any potential violations.
In contrast, Michiyoshi Yunoki of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan advocated for the abolition of policy activity funds and pressed the LDP on its reluctance to disclose receipts for payments from such funds, suggesting a desire to safeguard the “freedom of slush funds.”
Opposition parties have also called for a prohibition on donations from corporations or other entities. However, Suzuki of the LDP argued that such donations have not influenced policy decisions.