All eyes are on former Liberal Democratic Party policy chief Hakubun Shimomura as he prepares to give voluntary testimony to a Lower House political ethics committee Monday on how his faction approved unreported kickbacks to its members.
As the party continues to grapple with the fallout from a political slush funds scandal involving members of the faction previously led by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, formally known as the Seiwakai, Shimomura's answers could clarify — or obscure — what happened and why.
The scandal saw members receive off-the-books funds from senior Abe faction leaders for sales of fundraising party tickets exceeding their set quota.