Compromise on Political Reform

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) agreed with the leading opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ), on the bills for transparency of political funds. They passed the House of Representatives on December 17^th. The LDP accepted total abolition of the policy activities fund, which does not require disclosure of purposes of the spendings. CDPJ postponed conclusion on donation of companies and organizations until next March. The LDP was forced to compromise on political reform, the issue which the party lost public confidence in the last general election.

The LDP has been arguing that some political fund should not be disclosed, if it is used for clandestine diplomatic activities or for such a person whose privacy needs to be protected as a sufferer from sexual abuse. The leading party submitted its own bill for revision of Political Funds Control Act which included a clause of “spendings with consideration in disclosure.”

 

The opposition parties refused the bill, criticizing it as creating another loophole in the law. Seven opposition parties had submitted another bill to the Diet, which would completely abolish the policy activity funds.

 

The chairs of Diet affairs council of the LDP and the CDPJ finally reached a deal, in which “spendings with consideration in disclosure” was dropped from the LDP bill. The bill was transformed into another one that would prohibit foreigners from purchasing ticket of fundraising party and build database of political fund reports. The LDP, instead, promised to vote for the bill of the opposition parties on abolition of the policy activity funds.

 

They also agreed on concluding the revision of donations from companies and organizations by the end of March 2025. All opposition parties except the Democratic Party for the People (DPP) demand abolition of that donation. However, the bill submitted by the CDPJ allowed political organizations to make donations. It faced criticisms that labor unions, main supporters for the CDPJ, would be excluded from the regulation.

 

The LDP and the CDPJ approved the bill submitted by the DPP and Komeito to establish third-party organization in the Diet, which was named Committee for Observation of Political Fund.

 

Among nine bills submitted by the parties related to the issue, only three survived the negotiations: those are bills for excluding foreigners from party ticket purchase by the LDP, for complete abolition of the policy activities fund by seven opposition parties and for establishing third-party organization by the DPP and Komeito.

 

Discussion over political funds has never settled, anyway. In the debate at the special committee in the Lower House, the opposition party made the case on branches of parties. There are 9,062 branches in all over Japan, out of which 7,003 are the branches of the LDP and 358 are of the CDPJ.

 

Donations from companies and organizations cannot be accepted by individual politicians, but can be received by parties or their branches. The head of each branch is ordinarily a lawmaker or local politician. It has been pointed out that each branch of political party is effectively “the wallet of politician,” receiving donations from their supporters. The discussion for reforming those branches may continue in the next session of the Diet, which would affect coming Upper House election next summer.