Campaign Policies: Political Reform

Campaign for general election of the House of Representatives started on October 15^th. What kind of policies are the parties advocating? I am looking into them for three days. The first is on political reform. 

The general election 2024 is mainly about whether voters approve the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which revealed its inappropriate managing of political funds in some factions. It found 85 lawmakers or designated candidates for next election. Some of them left the party, and others declined to run for next election. But 45 out of 85 still sought to run for the election.

 

The LDP dropped 11 members from its slate. While it approved other 34 as official candidates in single-seat constituencies, the party newly led by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba removed them from the list of proportional representatives, which would be working for resurrection of losers in single-seat constituency. The opposition parties accused the LDP of fielding as much as 34 members who had been involved in the scandal.

 

LDP’s coalition partner, Komeito, decided to issue “recommendation” to some LDP candidates who had been dropped from the slate. The opposition parties criticized Komeito of supporting the candidates being abandoned even by the LDP.

 

Stances on the policy activities fund, a fund which is distributed from party leaders to members without disclosing purpose of spending, were clearly divided between parties. The opposition parties, plus Komeito, propose abolishment of the fund. The LDP included the abolishment as “an issue considered in the future.” Although some candidates in LDP presidential election upheld the abolition, Ishiba did not decide it.

 

The opposition parties are united for prohibiting donation from companies or organizations to the parties. Although their donation to each politician was prohibited in 1994, it has been possible for a company or organization to donate to political parties. Donation can also be made through buying ticket of fundraising parties. The LDP and Komeito has not referred to banning the donation of companies and organizations in their campaigns.

 

After the revision of Political Funds Control Act in 1994, the parties were allowed to receive fund from the government. The system was introduced for the politics to be independent from donations of private sectors interested in some policies. Nevertheless, a loophole remains in a way of donation not to politicians, but to parties.

 

In the poll of NHK in June, 50 percent responded that the donation should be prohibited, while 35 percent thought it did not have to be prohibited. Most people think that the investigation by the LDP was not sufficient. Although the opposition parties demand further investigation on the issue, Ishiba refused any reinvestigation on the lawmakers involved in the scandal.

 

Concerning large number of inherited lawmakers in the LDP, the CDP and Nippon Ishin-no Kai argue that there should be some regulation on succeeding candidacy in a family.