Regarding the Nov. 25 article "Hatoyama silent on funds probe": This absurd saga of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's shady political funds is merely another example of why donations to individual politicians should be banned completely. Under the current system there are just too many opportunities for corrupt practices to continue, and investigating them is a waste of time and energy.
In order to prevent this kind of problem, only donations to independent candidates and party national headquarters should be allowed, and parties should then divide the money they receive equally among all their candidates in elections. The longer things are allowed to continue as they are, the more corrosive the effect will be on Japanese politics.
simon foston