Premier in Money Scandal

A series of money scandal reached the top political leader of Japan. Media revealed that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had received money from the companies, which had issued subsidy from national government. Political Funds Control Law prohibits politicians to accept donation from company with subsidy from national government within a year from the day of notice. Abe’s answer to the questions in the Diet was “I didn’t know that.” It is not good for Japanese people to educate their children in a circumstance that their top political leader uses such a cheap shot to excuse his laziness.

According to a balance sheet of Fourth Branch of Yamaguchi Prefecture of Liberal Democratic Party, which was represented by Abe, the branch received ¥120 thousands of donation from a company for water processing in Osaka in September, 2012. The company was notified about subsidy from Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry three months before. Another company was a common name in cement makers, called Ube Industries, Ltd. It donated ¥500 thousands to the branch in December, 2013, eight months after notification of ¥31 millions of subsidy from METI.

Political Funds Control Law has an exception of regulation on subsidy for research and development or other non-profit purposes. The exception might be applied to the donation to Abe. “About some of the donations, we have realized that they were not related to profit,” told Abe. But basically, he knew a little about donations to him. “According to Prime Minister, it was true that he received the donations. But he did not know about the fact that those companies had received subsidy,” told Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshihide Suga.

Ministers of Abe Cabinet have been precipitated in a quagmire of money scandal. Following resignation of two Ministers last fall, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Koya Nishikawa, stepped down with questionable donation from regional companies. Abe’s scandal has the same nature as Nishikawa’s. If Abe approved Nishikawa’s resignation, he needs to step down to take responsibility of losing political credibility of the people.

Simultaneously, the same story was revealed in the opposite party. President of Democratic Party of Japan, Katsuya Okada, had received donation as questionable as Abe’s. All parties became serious about sprawling money scandals at last. Leading and opposite parties are discussing measures to prevent those doubtful reception of political donations. Actual idea is to amend Political Funds Control Law to adjust with actual activities of politicians, attributing the scandal to insufficiency of the law. Effective solution for those politicians dependent on money should be only one: prohibiting all kinds of donations from companies or organizations.