Yukio Hatoyama, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan, called Saturday for a sharp reduction in the government's secret funds following the revelation Friday that about 66 million yen was given to lawmakers in 1991 and 1992 to ensure that proceedings in the Diet went smoothly.
"If the funds were used in such a way, it is natural to sharply reduce the amount," Hatoyama told a press conference in Tokushima. "We also need a system under which the application of the funds is disclosed after a certain period."
Japanese Communist Party leader Kazuo Shii revealed Friday that the Cabinet of Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa spent the 66 million yen to ensure smooth Diet proceedings and to finance fundraising parties for politicians in the 14 months from November 1991.
Accounting records presented by Shii showed the funds -- drawn from taxpayers' money -- were spent on such things as expensive suits and merchandise coupons to be presented to both ruling and opposition lawmakers.