Doubted Management of Political Fund in JIP

The co-leader of Japan Innovation Party (JIP), Fumitake Fujita, announced in his press conference not to request a printing company to print flyers about his political activities. The president of the company is Fujita’s first secretary. Fujita has paid 21 million yen for the company from his political fund from the government, which was titled “payment for research, study, public affairs and accommodation.” Fujita denied illegality of his activity. 

The daily newspaper of Japan Communist Party, Shinbun Akahata, reported in late October that Fujita had circulated public money to his ally. It revealed that Fujita had paid 21 million yen for a company, run by his pubic first secretary, between June 2017 and November 2024. A law prohibits public secretary of a member of the Diet to be involved in a side business. The newspaper accused Fujita of his management of political fund which was appropriated by the government.

 

Fujita admitted that he had paid the money for the company. Having said that, Fujita explained that it was a proper outsourcing of business and not illegal. “The report is a false manipulation of public image, ignoring normal business interaction,” said Fujita. Fujita promised that he would no longer place an order to the printing company not to invite misunderstandings.

 

Although Fujita explained that the business with his secretary’s company was rational because it would guarantee quality of the products and time performance with fundamental credibility on the company. However, the founder of JIP and former governor of Osaka, Toru Hashimoto, argued that it would not be tolerated. “Diet members can easily accept public money, if this kind of management was allowed,” said Hashimoto in a social networking service.

 

The leader of JIP and the Governor of Osaka, Hirofumi Yoshimura, announced that JIP would prohibit its members to spend party grants for a company run by a secretary. Yoshimura seemed to be worried about erosion of image of the party with Fujita’s management of public money. However, it was reported that Yoshimura also paid 1 million yen of money to the same company as Fujita had used.

 

JIP has been criticizing inappropriate management of political funds in the Liberal Democratic Party. The public image about JIP is a clean party on political funds, After forming coalition with the LDP in October, however, JIP has not been very insisting on stricter regulation on political funds, including donation from companies and organizations. JIP and the LDP agreed on postponing reform in the donation until the fall 2023.

 

Fujita was also criticized that he exposed a name card of a journalist of Akahata, which included name, phone number and email address, to social networking service. It was recognized as an unfair exposure of personal information of a journalist who Fujita did not like.

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