Prosecutors have started questioning ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers on a voluntary basis in connection with a political fund scandal involving the LDP's largest faction, sources familiar with the matter said Saturday.
Several dozen lawmakers of the faction are targeted for questioning amid allegations that the group failed to declare hundreds of millions of yen of fundraising party revenue in political funding reports.
The scandal has already rocked Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's government, resulting in the replacement of all four ministers belonging to the LDP's largest faction, and could also deliver a further blow to the ruling party depending on how the investigation proceeds.