Internal affairs minister Hiroya Masuda, who is in charge of overseeing the fund reports of politicians and political parties, admitted Saturday that his own political fund management body failed to log a ¥1 million donation made in 2003, when he was governor of Iwate Prefecture.
"As the minister in charge of the political fund law, I have to take this very seriously," Masuda said at an urgently convened news conference at the ministry. "This is a big mistake. I'm deeply ashamed because my supervision fell short."
Masuda, who was installed as minister of internal affairs and communications by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during the Aug. 27 Cabinet reshuffle, apologized for failing to book the donation and said he had already spoken about it with Abe.