Japan PM denies LDP covertly backing scandal-hit members in election

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Thursday dismissed the view that his ruling Liberal Democratic Party is financially supporting politicians implicated in a party slush funds scandal who are running in this weekend’s general election without party endorsement.

Ishiba said the provision of funds, which came to light Wednesday and drew immediate criticism from the opposition camp, is intended for use by local LDP chapters in expanding party strength, not by scandal-hit members running without the party’s ticket for the House of Representatives election on Sunday.

He also took issue with the matter surfacing during the final stages of the campaign, noting that it would deal a heavy blow to Ishiba, with growing expectations that the LDP and its coalition partner could lose their majority in the more powerful lower house.

“We provided funds to local branches, not individual candidates. I feel outrage about the timing of the reporting,” Ishiba said during a campaign speech in Hiroshima, western Japan.

The Shimbun Akahata, the daily newspaper of the Japanese Communist Party, first reported that the LDP had provided 20 million yen ($131,000) to local branches headed by candidates who are not backed by the ruling party, the same amount as given to branches of its official candidates.

Some LDP candidates who were not involved in the scandal, meanwhile, lambasted Ishiba for offering the same amount of money to those who are not endorsed, with one saying that the move is a “huge nuisance” given the negative impact on the election campaign.

The revelation came as media polls point to a tough election for the LDP and its coalition partner Komeito, with their majority control of the 465-seat lower house at stake. Ishiba, who became premier on Oct. 1, dissolved the chamber to seek a fresh mandate.

Opposition party members are ramping up their criticism of the funds provision, with the head of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan describing it as a way to support “clandestine candidates.”

“The prime minister said the party decided not to give official endorsements (to scandal-related candidates) in a show of remorse. We should not have taken his words at face value in the first place,” CDPJ chief Yoshihiko Noda said in a stump speech in Yokohama, near Tokyo.

Public confidence in the LDP has been eroded by revelations that some ruling party members had underreported income from fundraising events. The ruling party did not officially endorse 15 members involved in the scandal, which came to light during the tenure of Ishiba’s predecessor.

Without official party endorsements, candidates cannot receive the same level of financial and other logistical support as those backed by a political party.

The sum of 20 million yen was funneled from party subsidies, or taxpayer money allocated to each party to support political activities, the Shimbun Akahata said, adding that for endorsed candidates, 5 million yen of the total was given as fees for the endorsement.

In an apparent bid to contain further damage, the LDP justified the provision of the funds in an internal document circulated on Thursday. The report by the Shimbun Akahata “distorted the facts and caused a misunderstanding,” the party said, adding that there is “no truth at all” in the view that the party has stealth candidates.

The LDP also said that the provision of funds to local chapters poses no “legal or ethical” problems, and claimed that unendorsed members who are running as independents cannot use the funds for their campaigning.

“We’ve seen no remorse on the LDP’s part,” Yuichiro Tamaki, who heads the Democratic Party for the People, said in a stump speech in Fukuoka, southwestern Japan.

---

Related coverage:

Japan’s LDP admits to funding branches led by scandal-hit members

Support for opposition parties grows ahead of upcoming election: poll

FOCUS: Opposition’s ex-PM Noda may give ruling LDP good fight in election

---