Thirty-seven lawmakers received illegal political donations last year before punishments for corporate donations to individual politicians were enacted in April 2000, according to a government report released Thursday.
Four Cabinet members, including Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda, were among the lawmakers who received such donations, according to a report compiled by the Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications Ministry. The report covers income and expenditures in 2000, and includes donations and government subsidies.
Other Cabinet members named in the report were: Takeo Hiranuma, minister of economy, trade and industry; Tsutomu Takebe, minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries; and Nobuteru Ishihara, state minister on administrative reform and deregulation.