The Diet affairs chairmen of three opposition parties agreed Sept. 25 to raise political ethics issues in an extraordinary Diet session to start Sept. 29, including the subject of the alleged offerings of money by oil wholesaler Junnichi Izui to Liberal Democratic Party politicians.
Representatives from Shinshinto, the Democratic Party of Japan and the Taiyo Party agreed to summon Izui, who is on trial for income tax evasion and fraud charges. Izui said early this month that he had given a total of 278 million yen to six key members of the ruling LDP, including policy chief Taku Yamasaki.
The opposition parties say they will not join discussions to set dates for various committee meetings of the Diet session unless the date to summon Izui is arranged, Kansei Nakano from Shinshinto told a press briefing. The opposition parties will also question the responsibility of Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto for appointing Koko Sato as chief of the Management Coordination Agency despite Sato's past bribery conviction. Sato resigned Sept. 22 amid strong criticism from the public as well as from members of his own party and other parties.