December 4, 2024
Tokyo – Shigeru Ishiba, president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, made it clear in the first Diet on Monday that he is willing to work with the opposition parties to implement political reforms, except for canceling donations from companies and organizations. Controversy has continued since the Liberal Democratic Party suffered a heavy defeat in the October House of Representatives election.
Ishiba hopes to amend the Political Funds Control Act during this session of Congress to get some resolution on money and political issues. But for the Liberal Democrats, the road to regaining trust will be long and rocky.
resolutely resist
“Political parties should avoid allowing donations to distort their policies. In this sense, there is no difference between individual donations and donations from businesses and organizations.
The opposition responded with boos. Ishiba temporarily stopped talking and looked at the Congress chamber seriously. Later, he once again emphasized his opposition to canceling donations from companies and organizations, saying that there was nothing inappropriate in itself.
Noda criticized Ishiba, saying, “Although many opposition parties are seeking to cancel donations from companies and organizations, you did not mention this issue at all in your policy speeches.”
However, Ishiba would not change his stance.
The Liberal Democratic Party's position on this issue is consistent. “The Liberal Democratic Party does not believe that corporate donations are a bad thing, but individual donations are a good thing,” said Kisaburo Tokai, head of the Liberal Democratic Party's political reform headquarters. Their position is based on a 1970 Supreme Court ruling that private companies are generally free to make political donations.
On Sunday, Seiji Kihara, chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party's Election Strategy Committee and chairman of the Political Reform Headquarters, and Shinjiro Koizumi, the former environment minister, visited the Prime Minister's residence.
They are believed to have discussed the issue and agreed not to entertain requests to cancel donations from companies and organizations while Congress is in session.
The LDP plans to call on experts to hold mid- to long-term talks on the issue rather than rush to a conclusion in the current Diet session, a stance shared by LDP coalition partner Komeito.
“If it is impossible to reach an agreement by the end of this year, it is important to spend enough time discussing the issue thoroughly,” LDP Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama said at a news conference on Monday.
The situation is serious
On other political reform issues, Ishiba has kept a low profile. As the leader of the minority ruling bloc, he is in a difficult position because he can only promote policies that are consistent with the main opposition parties such as the People's Democratic Party, which the Liberal Democratic Party hopes to cooperate with.
Noda criticized political party funding for individual lawmakers' political activities, saying: “It is no exaggeration to say that these funds are legal slush funds.” Ishiba responded that his goal was to abolish the fund.
Along with scrapping the funds, the Liberal Democrats have also proposed establishing a third-party organization to oversee the spending of political funds, which would need to be scrutinized before being disclosed.
Ishiba expressed his willingness to sincerely discuss this issue with opposition parties and political groups. The Liberal Democratic Party is currently discussing with the Liberal Democratic Party the issue of changing the so-called 1.03 million yen barrier. In response to a question from Liberal Democratic Party member Asano Satoshi, Ishiba said, “The Liberal Democratic Party has the same views as your party on basic issues, such as the abolition of political activity funds. “
The ruling and opposition parties plan to resume discussions on political reform in the near future, and the Liberal Democratic Party has proposed an outline of a bill to amend the Political Fund Management Act at the request of the opposition parties. The LDP aims to amend the law during the current special session of parliament.
However, the problem of underreporting income in political funding reports by lawmakers from factions such as Liberal Democratic Party Shinzo Abe remains unresolved. Noda on Monday called on Liberal Democratic House of Representatives members who failed to report receipt of funds in their political funding reports, as well as 27 Senate members who have agreed to participate, to participate in the House Political Ethics Review Committee.
In this regard, Shi Pohao said that he would urge the violating members to fulfill their responsibilities. However, Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers are increasingly concerned that the China Democracy Party will continue to raise questions about political funding and believe that the committee's deliberations are not enough to make the issue a main focus in next summer's upper house elections.
