National Public Safety Commission chief Kiyoko Ono accepted payment from a company linked to a rightwing group, Ono and her aides said Friday.

The Tokyo-based construction firm, headed by a senior rightwing group member, paid Ono 20,000 yen to participate in a breakfast meeting last year.

Ono was appointed in September as chairwoman of the commission supervising Japan's police forces. She said she had no idea that money came from someone linked to the rightwing group.

Security authorities identified the company chairman as an honorary chairman of an association made up of about 130 ultrarightwing groups.

The company also paid for tickets worth tens of thousands of yen for a party sponsored last year by a ruling Liberal Democratic Party faction, sources said.

Ono was also a member of this faction, which at the time was led by Shizuka Kamei and Takami Eto.

Ono, who is a member of the House of Councilors, has been holding the breakfast meetings, in her capacity as an Upper House lawmaker. Speakers are invited to discuss wide-ranging political and social issues at the gatherings. Ono has been sponsoring the gatherings since last year.

She said that during the 1986 election, the rightist offered to support her, and told her that they had attended the same university.

One of Ono's secretaries said an employee of the rightwing-affiliated company attended one of the breakfast meetings. The participation fee was 20,000 yen.

The secretary said Ono did not list the money on her political funds report because the amount was less than 50,000 yen. They plan to establish the total amount of money received from the company and return it, according to the secretary.

Under the Political Funds Control Law, lawmakers are not required to declare donations of less than 50,000 yen by individuals.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Ono had briefed the government about the incident. She told him that she did not know the money came from an ultrarightwing member or of the circumstances, he said.

Fukuda indicated that such incidents can't be helped. He urged politicians to be "very careful" about such matters.