Reports on political donations for 2010 made public Nov. 30 by the internal affairs ministry show that both management and labor unions of the power industry provided a large amount of money to both the Democratic Party of Japan and the Liberal Democratic Party. It is logical to suspect that the power companies are trying to buy influence from the parties to protect their regional monopoly and promote nuclear power generation.
According to Kyodo News, the industry's labor unions gave at least ¥33.49 million in 2010 to DPJ lawmakers in the form of political donations and purchase of fund-raising party tickets. Mr. Masao Kobayashi, a DPJ Upper House member originally from the labor union of Tokyo Electric Power Co. who is currently chairman of the Diet chamber's Health, Welfare and Labor Committee, received ¥26.57 million prior to the July 2010 Upper House election, the largest amount among DPJ lawmakers.
The political arm of the Federation of Electric Power Related Industry Worker's Unions (Denryoku Soren) plays a central role in giving money to DPJ lawmakers. Its total donations from 2007 to 2009 amounted to more than ¥110 million.