[ad_1]
A senior Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker involved in the political funding scandal revealed on Friday that former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had proposed ending the practice of creating slush funds for members of his faction using proceeds from fundraising events.
However, former Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, who has since resigned as secretary-general of the party’s largest faction, the Abe faction, claimed that he was not aware of why the proposal submitted in April 2022 was later withdrawn. . In July of the same year, Prime Minister Abe was shot and killed during a campaign speech.
In a televised hearing of the House of Representatives Political Ethics Committee, Mr. Nishimura also revealed that some of the members of the income faction, who earned money from ticket sales at fundraising events, were involved in organizing the distribution of slush funds that were returned to them without their permission. I denied it. Reported as political funding.
Former Minister of Trade Yasutoshi Nishimura attends a televised public hearing of the Political Ethics Committee of the House of Representatives held in Tokyo on March 1, 2024 (Kyodo News)
The two-day hearing began Thursday. On the first day, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, president of the Liberal Democratic Party, became the first sitting prime minister to appear before the Ethics Committee, but did not provide any new facts about the scandal.
The Liberal Democratic Party has come under intense scrutiny amid allegations that some factions, including the largest faction once led by Prime Minister Abe, have been building slush funds for years by failing to report some of their income from fundraising parties. exposed.
Nishimura, who admitted to receiving 1 million yen ($6,700) from the Abe faction over a five-year period ending in 2022, said he did not know when the slush funds began, adding that the group’s faction leaders and treasurers habitually Transactions that stated they involved money.
He said he had not seen details of the faction’s transactions or financial reports.
The Liberal Democratic Party has suggested the practice may have continued for more than 20 years, and opposition parties have called for former faction leader Yoshiro Mori, who served as prime minister for about a year from April 2000, to be summoned to the Diet as a witness. ing.
A total of 10 people belonging to the three factions of the Liberal Democratic Party, which Kishida led until December, were indicted or summary indicted for violating the Political Funds Control Act. The three factions decided to disband due to the scandal.
Public hearings at the Political Ethics Council are, in principle, closed to the public, but they can be made public with the consent of those in attendance. Of nine similar cases in the past, only one in 1996 was completely closed, and five were released to the media.
The House of Representatives Ethics Committee, convening for the first time in 15 years, was originally scheduled to hold a hearing on Wednesday, and Nishimura and several other members have agreed to participate. However, the opening of the meeting was postponed due to conflict between the ruling and opposition parties over whether to allow media access.
On Wednesday, Kishida announced his intention to attend the committee meeting with the media present, with the aim of breaking the deadlock in negotiations to convene the board of directors.
Kishida attended a panel discussion as the government aims to quickly pass next year’s budget bill, which is due to start in April. Diet deliberations over the budget bill have stalled due to an impasse over committee hearings.
The Ethics Commission is responsible for investigating the political and moral conduct of members facing allegations of misconduct.
The council, established in 1985, can make recommendations such as recommending that members resign from their roles in parliament or refrain from attending parliament for a certain period of time, but such measures are prohibited. is not taught.
Unlike parliamentary witnesses, individuals are not subject to perjury charges even if they give false testimony.
Related coverage:
Kishida apologizes for funding scandal as first prime minister at Diet Ethics Committee
Japan’s prime minister attends parliamentary committee on funding scandal on February 29
Diet postpones holding of review committee on political funding fraud issue
[ad_2]
Source link
