New Komeito policy chief Yoshihisa Inoue said Sunday that former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto should explain whether he was involved in a recent donation scandal.
"I hope he will reveal the truth," Inoue said on a morning TV talk program, indicating Hashimoto should appear before the Deliberative Council on Political Ethics of the House of Representatives or hold a news conference about the donation from the Japan Dental Association.
Inoue made the remark in reference to the opposition camp's repeated demand that Hashimoto give sworn testimony in the Diet over the scandal, which involved the Liberal Democratic Party's largest faction he formerly headed.
Meanwhile, LDP Deputy Secretary General Shinzo Abe expressed reluctance about having the Diet summon Hashimoto.
Noting that the Democratic Party of Japan has filed a criminal accusation with prosecutors against the former prime minister, Abe said, "It's inappropriate for the issue to be dealt with by both the Diet and the judiciary."