Japanese prosecutors made their first arrest yesterday in connection with a major political slush funds scandal that has rocked Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s already unpopular government.
Tokyo District Public Prosecutors’ Office apprehended former Japanese vice-education minister Yoshitaka Ikeda on suspicion of failing to report fundraising proceeds he received from his faction within the governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), according to Japanese officials and local media reports.
Ikeda’s faction, which used to be led by the former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated in 2022, has remained the largest and most influential faction within Kishida’s party. The faction is suspected of failing to report more than ￥600 million (US$4.15 million).
Photo: Kyodo News via AP
The former minister was accused of not reporting the ￥40 million he received from the faction as a kickback from political event ticket sales, a violation of the political funds control law, media reports said.
Prosecutors declined to give details.
Kishida declined to comment on the investigation, but last month said that he took the investigation seriously and would do his best to regain public trust, including setting up an expert panel to strengthen fundraising regulations.
Last year, dozens of LDP lawmakers, mostly members of the Abe faction, were accused of systematically failing to report about ￥600 million in funds in possible violation of campaign and election laws, media reports said.
The money is alleged to have gone into unmonitored slush funds.
Kishida replaced four of his Cabinet ministers linked to the scandal last month in an attempt to mitigate the scandal that has rocked his party and grip on power. Then-Japanese chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno and then-minister of economy, trade and industry Yasutoshi Nishimura were among those removed. Prosecutors reportedly interviewed the two top officials on a voluntary basis, along with several other LDP lawmakers.
Support ratings for Kishida have continued to drop, falling below 20 percent, despite purging members of the Abe wing involved in the scandal. This move could trigger an internal power struggle within the party.
The fundraising scandal is considered one of the biggest blunders in decades by the powerful party.
However, the LDP’s grip on power is seen unchanged as long as the opposition remains fractured, although Kishida’s leadership is shaking.
He does not have to call a parliamentary election until next year, but the LDP is to have a leadership vote in September.
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