Tag - political funds

 
 

POLITICAL FUNDS

Hiroshi Moriyama, secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, is interviewed at the party's headquarters in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN
Oct 15, 2024
LDP says it will abolish policy activity funds in the future
"There is no doubt about moving toward abolishing the allowances," the LDP's secretary-general said in an interview.
Of the potential candidates at present, more than 1,060 are preparing for battle in 289 single-seat constituencies.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 10, 2024
Over 1,170 people plan to seek Lower House seats
Over 1,170 people are currently planning to run in the Oct. 27 election for the House of Representatives.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba listens as Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Yoshihiko Noda (right) speaks during a one-on-one debate in parliament on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 9, 2024
Opposition clashes with Ishiba over political reform
Political reform and the LDP slush fund scandal took center stage during the prime minister's showdown with opposition party leaders.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a Lower House session on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 7, 2024
Ishiba fends off questions on endorsement of scandal-tainted LDP members
The prime minister was grilled in parliament on the extent of support the ruling party will give those implicated in a recent slush funds scandal in upcoming polls.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 6, 2024
Ishiba says LDP will not endorse some 'slush fund' lawmakers in general election
The new leader hinted that "a fair number of non-endorsements is likely" as the party looks to rebuild public trust that has eroded following the scandal.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers his inaugural policy address to parliament in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 5, 2024
LDP to endorse 'slush fund' lawmakers in general election
Opposition parties are turning up the heat on Ishiba, who had earlier signaled his intention to take action against those implicated in the scandal.
The former treasurer of the Liberal Democratic Party's former largest faction has been found guilty in a case tied to a major political funds scandal that the party has been mired in since late last year.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 30, 2024
Former Abe faction treasurer given suspended three-year prison term
Junichiro Matsumoto underreported political funds totaling ¥670 million between 2018 and 2022.
Former environment minister Shinjiro Koizumi, a candidate for ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s presidential election, speaks during a debate in Tokyo on Sept. 14.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 23, 2024
Does Shinjiro Koizumi have what it takes to lead Japan?
The 43-year-old is determined to put his past missteps behind him, promising to be a leader who can steer the country through rough waters.
Shigeru Ishiba speaks at a supporters meeting in Tokyo on Aug. 30.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 5, 2024
Taxes and political reform in focus in upcoming LDP campaign
The candidates’ recipes to put the economy back on track after decades of low growth are varied, with some emphasizing redistribution and others promising no tax hikes.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi announces his candidacy in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 3, 2024
Yoshimasa Hayashi announces candidacy in LDP leadership race
The chief cabinet secretary has proposed a new independent agency to regulate the financing of electoral campaigns.
Manabu Horii in December, when he was a Lower House member
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 30, 2024
Ex-LDP lawmaker Manabu Horii indicted over two money cases
Horii allegedly distributed a total of ¥380,000 in condolence money and other funeral offerings worth ¥230,000 to 52 voters.
Lower House member Manabu Horii
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 28, 2024
Scandal-hit former LDP member Manabu Horii announces resignation as lawmaker
"I've ended up trampling on the trust placed on me by each vote, entirely due to my lack of law-abiding spirit. So I decided to quit," he said.
Shigeru Ishiba
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 25, 2024
Ishiba adjusts remark about scandal-hit LDP lawmakers
Ishiba said that the LDP Election Strategy Committee should deliberate on whether lawmakers linked to the scandal deserve to be the party's official candidates.
Nobuyuki Baba (left), the leader of Nippon Ishin no Kai, faces Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during a parliamentary debate among party leaders in June.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 15, 2024
Japan's allowance disclosure reform for lawmakers stalled
Efforts have slowed as an agreement between two key parties on the issue lacks a specific deadline.
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 9, 2024
Kishida Cabinet members resume holding fundraising parties
"I will continue to carry out (fundraising through parties) in a restrained manner," said Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki.
Prosecutors leave Upper House lawmaker Megumi Hirose's home in Tokyo on Tuesday after searching it as part of an investigation into alleged fraud.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 31, 2024
Resignation of LDP lawmaker over pay scandal adds to party's woes
Megumi Hirose has left the party over allegations she pocketed public money to pay the salary of a secretary who didn’t actually work.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi (right) during a meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 24, 2024
Why Japan's mysterious stash of classified funds escapes scrutiny
The funds can be used by the chief cabinet secretary with no explanation needed, fueling speculation of widespread misappropriation.
Officials of the Tokyo Public Prosecutor's Office raid the office of Lower House member Manabu Horii in Noboribetsu, Hokkaido, on Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 22, 2024
Lawmaker Horii knew funeral money handouts were illegal: sources
Prosecutors raided Horii's offices in Tokyo and Hokkaido as well as his home, on suspicion of violating the public offices election law.
Tokyo prosecutors raid the Noboribetsu, Hokkaido office of Lower House member Manabu Horii on Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 21, 2024
Lawmaker Horii may have used kickbacks to pay funeral money
Politicians are prohibited from giving donations to voters in their districts except as consolation at funerals that they themselves attend.
House of Representatives lawmaker Manabu Horii, 52, quit the Liberal Democratic Party on Thursday after his offices were raided by prosecutors. He said last month that he will not run in the next Lower House election.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 18, 2024
Prosecutors raid offices of LDP lawmaker Manabu Horii
He is being investigated over allegations that he gave funeral money to voters in his constituency in Hokkaido.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past