As expected, the opposition Liberal Democratic Party has launched a salvo of criticism in the Lower House's Budget Committee against Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama over a political funds scandal. Unfortunately for Mr. Hatoyama, his explanations have not been very convincing.
Mr. Hatoyama admitted that some of his own money — under the control of Rokko Shokai, a company that manages assets of the Hatoyama family — had been diverted to his political funds management body. He said he had signed documents allowing the former accountant of the body to divert the money, because the accountant said the body lacked funds for political activities.
A politician is not allowed to make political donations of more than ¥10 million a year. About ¥130 million worth of small donations from unnamed sources were made to Mr. Hatoyama's organization over four years, and some of that money is suspected to have been his own. He said he was aware of the ¥10 million limit.