Newsfrom Japan
Tokyo, May 12 (Jiji Press)–An official of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, in a television program Sunday, stressed that the ruling bloc’s proposals for revising the political funds control law would be effective in eradicating law violations, while opposition party officials claimed that there are many loopholes.
On the proposals compiled in the wake of a high-profile slush funds scandal involving LDP factions, Keisuke Suzuki, who heads a working team under the LDP’s political reform headquarters, said, “We will proceed with necessary revisions from the viewpoint of preventing a recurrence.”
In the same TV program, Takayuki Ochiai of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan criticized the ruling bloc’s proposals as making little change, as they fail to call for lowering the threshold for the disclosure of the names of fundraising party ticket buyers and present specific ways of disclosing the usage of so-called policy activity funds.
Hitoshi Aoyagi of opposition Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party) said that the proposals “completely ignored” the review of political donations from companies and groups and presented “zero concrete steps” over the handling of policy activity funds.
The LDP’s Suzuki took a cautious stance over the disclosure of the usage of policy activity funds, saying: “There are some things that need to be done, including relations with Taiwan and measures against opposition parties. I wonder if it would be realistic to make these open.”
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]