Upper House member Yasutada Ono on Thursday became the second Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker to have his offices searched by prosecutors in connection with a scandal involving kickbacks to parliament members from ticket sales for political fundraising events.
Tokyo prosecutors raided Ono’s office on suspicion that he failed to report ¥50 million in extra ticket sales — money he allegedly received through kickbacks. The raid comes a day after prosecutors searched the home and offices of fellow LDP lawmaker Yoshitaka Ikeda, who is suspected of not reporting ¥40 million in kickbacks between 2018 and 2022. Ono and Ikeda are from the party's largest faction, which was led by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Speaking to reporters Thursday morning, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida refrained from commenting directly on the raid.