The decision by Keidanren (Japan Business Federation) to resume its call on roughly 1,300 member companies to make political donations is no doubt aimed at rebuilding the influence of the nation's largest business lobby on the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

Keidanren chairman Sadayuki Sakakibara denies that the group is trying to use the donations to buy policies that favor big businesses. But it is hard to understand why his stated bid for the business community to work hand in hand with politicians to revive Japan's economy needs to be achieved through political donations.

Keidanren, for a long time, served as the main conduit of its members firms' contributions to the LDP since its inception in 1955 through the merger of conservative forces. The group set the amount of the donations and the share for each business sector and firms, and the annual contributions to the LDP totaled ¥10 billion in the early 1990s.