Aso Faction Not Unrelated to Secret Fund

Mainichi Shimbun reported that one of the members of Aso faction in the Liberal Democratic Party, who had been indicted with a charge of false management of political fund, found that he had possibly received secret fund distributed from the faction. Aso faction is the only one that survived the slush fund scandal in the LDP. If the story was true, the faction can no longer be said as unrelated to the scandal. It may have an impact on the LDP presidential race.

The Special Investigation Division of Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office indicted former member of the House of Representatives, Kentaro Sonoura, and his two secretaries in December 2022. They were charged with violation against Political Funds Control Act, failing in reporting 49 million yen of political fund, which was related to his fundraising party in between 2018 and 2020.

 

Sonoura was fined 1 million yen and disfranchised for three years. He left the LDP before the summery indictment on him, and resigned as a lawmaker.

 

Mainichi made research on the record of his trial and found that former secretaries of Sonoura had confessed 3.8 million yen of deposit in his bank account in 2017, which was from Iko-kai, as a part of income of the faction’s fundraising party. Although it is suspected that the faction was involved in the money transferring to Sonoura, because the faction also did not record it, the case has been run out of the time to be indicted.

 

According to testify of Sonoura’s secretaries to public prosecutors, Sonoura had a secret bank account which can be used for accumulating political fund for any political activities. One of them confessed that Aso faction at the time had a kickback system for the lawmakers who sold the party tickets beyond quota, as the same system as Abe or Nikai faction had.

 

Regardless other factions that declared dissolution, Aso decided to maintain his faction, as if Aso faction had nothing to do with the slush fund scandal. However, Sonoura’s case indicates that Aso faction has not been an exception of wrong management of political fund in the LDP. Aso faction faces a moral hazard. Some possible candidates for LDP presidential election demanded explanation of Aso faction.

 

Digital Minister Taro Kono, who declared his candidacy for the president of the LDP, demanded support from Aso faction, accumulating meetings with Aso and the colleagues in the faction, seeking full endorsement. Now, legitimacy of existence of Aso faction is questioned by Sonoura’s case.

 

It is closely watched whether Aso faction will slow down its activities in the presidential race, or keep on exercising its power as an only faction in the party. Some of other possible candidates are campaigning based on the faction line. It is not easy for the LDP to get rid of factional politics.

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