A spate of money scandals involving members of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet has again highlighted the problems with the way lawmakers spend political funds, including funds derived from taxpayer money.
Transparency in the use of such funds will be the minimum requirement in determining whether the money is spent for appropriate purposes. Attention also must be paid to the fact that there are some public allowances provided to Diet members whose use is beyond oversight.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court ordered members of the Okayama prefectural assembly to disclose receipts on small expenses — less than ¥10,000 each — that they have paid using the allowances they receive from the prefecture to cover political expenses such as policy research.