It has been nearly five months since systematic and long-running operations to amass secret funds by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s largest faction, which has produced a number of prime ministers, including Shinzo Abe, came to light.
To regain public trust in politics, it is imperative to make the flow of political funds transparent through radical systemic reforms. As this was evident from the start, the LDP’s tardy and timid response to the challenge has been utterly unacceptable.
This opportunity should be taken to push through a fundamental overhaul of the Political Fund Control Law, which has long been criticized for being riddled with loopholes.
Efforts must also be redoubled to answer the remaining questions about the slush fund scandal. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida must fulfill his grave responsibility, staking his political career on it.
INTRODUCTION OF GUILT-BY-ASSOCIATION ESSENTIAL
A special committee on political reform has been established in both houses of the Diet, and the Lower House is set to commence debating how the Political Fund Control Law should be revised on April 26.
Kishida has pledged to realize a revision to the law during the current session of the Diet, and the LDP and Komeito, the LDP’s junior coalition partner, have started working-level talks to formulate the ruling camp’s proposal.
The LDP has proposed to focus on three key issues: strengthening penalties for lawmakers involved; enhancing external audits; and increasing transparency through digitalization.
However, the party has yet to present a concrete proposal.
Opposition parties and Komeito have long presented their individual proposals. It is questionable how much the LDP, which is at the center of the scandal that has augmented political distrust, realizes and reflects on its responsibility.
During sessions of the Deliberative Councils on Political Ethics of both chambers, the LDP members embroiled in the scandal often claimed ignorance, saying they had entrusted financial matters to the accounting managers.
Without introducing a guilt-by-association system, politicians will use the same strategy of diverting accountability onto their secretaries and others. An effective system to prevent such acts is needed.
Efforts merely aimed at “preventing a recurrence,” however, are insufficient to restore the greatly eroded public trust.
The Political Fund Control Law is designed to ensure the fairness of political activities by subjecting the flow of political funds to the continuous surveillance and criticism of the public.
Every time a problem arose concerning “money in politics,” the law was amended, but inconspicuous loopholes have been left through cunning ways. These gaps must be closed to eliminate opacity.
BEYOND JUST PREVENTING A RECURRENCE
One such loophole is “seisaku katsudo-hi” (policy activity expenses), where political parties provide funds directly to individual politicians, and the usage of these funds remains completely undisclosed.
Every year, the LDP hands some 1 billion yen ($6.47 million) or so of funds in this category to top executives including its secretary-general.
This dubious method was devised when donations to individual politicians were banned under the Political Fund Control Law but those by political parties were exempted.
Unlike political organizations, including those that manage political funds for politicians, individual politicians are not required to report their finances, hence it is seen as a hotbed of corruption.
Opposition parties call for the “abolition” of policy activity expenses altogether, and Komeito advocates “mandatory disclosure of usage.” If the LDP is serious about reform, it must accept these proposals.
Similarly, the LDP has stubbornly blocked the disclosure of how Diet members spend 1 million yen in fixed monthly allowances intended to cover research, travel and communications expenses. This set sum of money, formerly called “buntsu-hi” for short, is paid to Diet members in addition to their monthly salaries.
It’s time to settle this “homework” from the fall of 2021 by amending the law concerning the annual salaries and allowances paid to Diet members.
Regulations concerning political donations made by companies and other organizations should also be reviewed from the standpoint of the original goal of the “political reform” made three decades ago.
One objective of the reform was to eradicate political corruption in response to a string of scandals including the Recruit share-for-favor scandal.
While introducing tax-financed state subsidies to political parties, it was decided that donations to politicians’ “fund management groups” from companies and organizations would be banned after five years.
However, donations to political parties and their branches were not banned, and a method of providing funds through the purchase of tickets to fund-raising parties remained.
There are persistent and deep-seated doubts about whether policies are distorted by moneyed interests.
In a recent postal survey by The Asahi Shimbun, 79 percent of the respondents said that donations by companies and other organizations “should not be allowed because they might lead to interest-driven politics,” far exceeding the 15 percent who thought “political activities should be free, so such donations should be allowed.”
CORPORATE DONATIONS SHOULD BE RESTRICTED
Both the largest opposition, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, and the second largest, Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party), are advocating for a ban on business contributions this time.
Kishida has taken a dim view of the step, using the 1970 Supreme Court decision that recognized the freedom of corporate political activity to justify his position.
However, the ruling also noted, “Dealing with the evils (of money politics and political corruption) should be left to legislative policy.” This is not a reason to leave the status quo unchanged.
Kishida has used grandiose expressions such as “becoming a ball of fire” and “staking my life” when talking about his efforts to regain public trust and revitalize the ruling party.
As it has turned out, however, these have been mere words.
In the party’s inquiries and in discussions at the Diet’s ethics councils, questions and doubts about the creation of slush funds have not been resolved.
In addition, the party’s penalties for those who have been involved in the scandal have been far from decisive enough to settle the matter.
Kishida appears to be engaged in political maneuvering to buy time by taking a series of baby steps.
Without overcoming internal resistance within the party and political calculations to realize fundamental reforms, the party will undoubtedly be further abandoned by the public. Kishida’s commitment to political funding reform is being tested.
We also have requests for the operation of the Diet’s special committees on the issue. This initiative to amend the law is aimed at creating a financial foundation for political activities.
To reach a conclusion that satisfies the public without being influenced by partisan interests, it is vital for the committees to incorporate insights from outside experts and other independent parties while engaging in exhaustive debate.
--The Asahi Shimbun, April 21
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