Political Reform Bill Passed the Lower House

The bill of revised Political Funds Control Act passed the House of Representatives and was sent to the House of Councillors on June 6th. While Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his allies boasted that the bill would work for implementing political reform, the opposition parties accused it as full of loopholes. The bill will pass the Diet by the end of current session set at June 23rd. 

Suffering from the slush fund scandal, which was made by its factions over the management of tickets for fundraising parties, the Liberal Democratic Party submitted its own draft to the Diet and listened to the opinions of other parties. The coalition partner, Komeito, approved the LDP bill with some change in the provisions and Japan Innovation Party (Nippon Ishin no Kai) joined them later.

 

Taking the requests of Komeito in the draft, the LDP agreed on lowering the threshold of disclosing the details of purchaser of party tickets from ¥200,000 to ¥50,000. “We evaluate the bill, because it mostly includes our requests,” said Secretary General, Keiichi Ishii.

 

However, the opposition parties criticized the bill, arguing that it made no difference, because the politicians could secretly collect political funds by selling small amount of tickets repeatedly. Basically, it was the biggest gain for the LDP to maintain the system of not disclosing the details of ticket purchaser, even if the threshold was lowered to ¥50,000.

 

Ishin insisted on disclosure of receipt of the policy activity fund, the money which is disseminated from a party to its member lawmakers, ten years after from the transfer. The LDP also accepted this Ishin’s request earlier this week to enable the bill pass the Diet with broader consensus. Disclosure ten years after means that the party and its members can conceal it for ten years. The opposition parties accused this regulation as something far from transparency.

 

Ishin had been insisted on abolishing donations from corporations and organizations as much as other opposition parties including Constitutional Democratic Party and Japan Communist Party. But, Ishin stopped demanding it once it reached a deal with the LDP. “Not only the leading coalition but Ishin should be receiving severe judge on its release of LDP from the gridlock,” said JCP leader, Tomoko Tamura.

 

The bill includes some other regulations for imposing lawmakers further responsibility for controlling political funds, including mandate to submit “reconfirmation” of fund control. If the reconfirmation was proved to be insufficient after an accounting manager was found guilty over the management of political fund, the lawmaker will be fined as much as ¥500,000 and cannot run for next election.

 

Nevertheless, the insufficiency of the bill over party ticket or the policy activity fund overtook the advantage of introducing reconfirmation of fund management. Public image on Kishida administration does not seem to be improved with the passage of the political reform bill.

 

On the same day when the bill passed the House of Representatives, former prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, had an inner meeting with some possible candidates for LDP president. Kishida can still not have a clear vision to be reelected in the election this fall.

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