OTSU, Shiga Pref. (Kyodo) Education minister Tatsuo Kawabata's political organization booked as much as ¥37 million in office expenses over a 22-year period through 2008, although the office was based in the homes of supporters, political funding reports and other sources suggested Tuesday.
The reports showed the organization reported between ¥540,000 and ¥3.67 million in office expenses annually between 1987 and 2008 for its Tokyo office, which was located at the homes of senior labor union members of major textile maker Toray Industries Inc., to which Kawabata had once belonged.
Kawabata's office said that although the organization has never paid rent for those offices, it abided by the law in reporting its expenses.
Kawabata, a member of the Democratic Party of Japan, represents the Shiga No. 1 district.