Japan political funds scandal forces reforms within ruling party

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) - The political funds scandal that rocked the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in Japan has triggered intra-party reforms, Kyodo News reported on Friday.

The party, which has ruled Japan since 1955 except for six years, has formed a task force to lead political reform and whether there was a need for intra-party factions.

The LDP will have to come up with new rules on how to properly manage its factions, leader and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters.

Kishida’s moves to come restore public confidence in his government and the party as the prime minister acknowledged that the people were “casting skeptical eyes” on the party.

Japanese prosecutors have raided, questioned and arrested members of the ruling party members amid a probe into a criminal complaint that accuses five factions of the ruling party of underreporting revenue generated over five years until 2022 through political fundraising parties.

Prosecutors on Friday indicted several individuals from three factions within the LDP.

Kishida left one such faction, the fourth largest in the ruling party, last month and has vowed to disband it.

Those found guilty of illegal money, which runs into thousands of dollars, could face criminal charges.

In late December, police arrested lawmaker and former senior vice justice minister, Mito Kakizawa, 52, and formally indicted him on Wednesday for violating the election law.

Kakizawa left the party after accusations surfaced that he illegally ran a campaign to finance a ward election in Tokyo last April.