The accounting practices of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's political fund management body have been so sloppy that people must wonder how he will be able to settle the matter and regain public trust.

It has been reported that the special investigation squad of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office suspects that the fund management body, Yuai Seikei Konwakai, has falsified statements on three different fronts, namely: some ¥21.8 million in donations from some 90 people who each supposedly donated more than ¥50,000, but include individuals who have denied ever making donations and others who are deceased; most of ¥180 million in donations from anonymous sources who each supposedly donated ¥50,000 or less; and some ¥100 million that was supposedly collected through fund-raising events. The total of these funds is some ¥300 million.

It is suspected that Mr. Hatoyama's 87-year-old mother lent him about ¥180 million per year for five years through 2008, totaling some ¥900 million. Mr. Hatoyama's mother is the eldest daughter of the late Shojiro Ishibashi, the founder of Bridgestone Corp., and is a major shareholder in the leading tire maker.