Hard to Prove Not Expensive Presidential Election

Trying to separate of money from politics, the Liberal Democratic Party appeals not expensive presidential election, which will be voted on September 27. However, one of the candidates was found that she had distributed flyers to local voters for presentation of her policies, inviting argument that it would violate the regulation. It is suspected that the party is serious for renewing its culture on political funds.

Before the presidential election was officially announced on September 12, LDP election committee set a new rule for election campaign. It contained eight regulations for each candidate, which included mailing flyers describing policies, automatic telephone call to the voters, distribution of books, paid advertisement on webpages and supporting specific candidate by prefectural branch of the LDP.

 

Minister of Economic Security, Sanae Takaichi, distributed flyers called “national politics report,” which described her political activities and policies she upheld to LDP members all around the country. Those flyers amounted to 300 to 350 thousand. Some campaigns for the president argued that the activity of Takaichi must have violated new regulation.

 

Takaichi defended herself that the distribution of flyers had nothing to do with the presidential election. According to her explanation, distributing flyers have been one of her regular political activities and the shipping had been finished before the LDP announced new regulation.

 

To the argument of Takaichi, Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshimasa Hayashi, apparently opposed, arguing that Takaichi’s flyer introduced confusion among local party members. One of the members of Hayashi’s campaign revealed an example that a local party member had already voted for Takaichi by mail, because the member thought that local organization decided to support Takaichi after receiving Takaichi’s flyer. Hayashi campaign sent a letter to the election committee for further investigation.

 

However, LDP presidential election has been known as very expensive. In 1970s, it was usual that factions bought votes of other factions. Hegemony was affordable in the context of LDP politics.

 

It was proved by past activities of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Mainichi Shimbun reported that Kishida donated 100 million yen to his faction between 2020 and 2021, which was supposed to have used for presidential election. According to Mainichi’s research, Kishida donated 50 million yen, the upper limit for donation in Political Funds Control Act, in 2020 and 2021. Political funds report of Kishida faction indicated that the donation was used for a meeting in a hotel room or printing and shipping flyers.

 

Different from elections for selecting Diet members, LDP presidential election does not have strict regulation by law. The regulation set by LDP election committee is basically a voluntary rule for themselves. Having received criticisms on the slush fund scandal, the party has been wanting to prove themselves that they deal with politics with less money. But it does not seem to be easy for them to exercise politics without money.

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