Another Lawmaker Indicted over Illegal Use of Fund

The Special Investigation Division of Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office filed summery indictment against a former member of the House of Representatives, Manabu Horii, with crime of not reporting political fund which he had received from Abe faction of the Liberal Democratic Party. Tokyo Summery Court ordered Horii 1 million yen of fine and three years of disfranchise.

 

The fourth indictment against lawmaker of the Liberal Democratic Party on the slush fund scandal reminds the public of inappropriate use of political funds in the party which is in a process of selecting new leader in the presidential election.

 

Horii failed in recording 17 million yen of income, which he received from Abe faction as the kickback of fundraising parties, to his political funds report between 2019 and 2021. Horii illegally used the fund for condolence money or flower to 52 people in his electoral district in Hokkaido, which amounted to 610 thousand yen. It is prohibited for a politician to donate for any people in his or her electoral district.

 

Horii violated the law in two ways. One was violation of the Political Funds Control Act failing in reporting the kickback and another was of the Public Office Election Act by donating to the people in his district. The public prosecutors’ office has indicted three lawmakers with Abe faction, who received the fund over 30 million yen. Although Horii received less than 30 million yen, it is likely that the public prosecutors found Horii to be highly malicious with mixture of two kinds of illegal activities.

 

It is reported that Horii instructed his local staffs to distribute condolence money to the people in his district, even after his staffs pointed out the illegality of the donation. After the slush fund scandal was revealed last year, Horii left the LDP in July, concerning investigation of the prosecutors. Just before the indictment, he announced that he would resign as a lawmaker.

 

85 LDP members were found as failing in reporting the kickback fund from factions. While most of them corrected their report, five people have not opened how those funds had been used. One of those five, Horii, was indicted as he used it for condolence money in his district. Other four, including former Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Hiroshige Seko or former Chairman of LDP Diet Affairs Committee Tsuyoshi Takagi, have not revealed how it had been used. Having left the LDP, Seko keeps on having fundraising parties for himself.

 

While some possible candidates in LDP presidential election uphold strict measures on the members failing in reporting political funds, others show softer attitude on those members, hoping to secure more votes in the election. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has not finished thorough investigation over how the kickback system has created. The LDP has not shown its way to be independent on donation from entrepreneurs and organizations. 

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