Distribution of Gift Catalogs

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi distributed gifts to the lawmakers in the Lower House who won their seats in February 8 general election. While the law for regulation of political funds prohibit any individual to donate to politician, Takaichi justified her gift as not illegal because it was not made by her but by an organization represented by her. It showed her indifference to be modest in management of political funds 

In the discussion of the Diet, Takaichi explained that her office gave the lawmakers of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in the Lower House catalog of gifts, by which the recipient can purchase any item in the catalog. Upper limit of the purchase was 34 thousand yen. the catalog was distributed to 315 Lower House lawmakers, all the LDP lawmakers except Takaichi herself. Total cost for all the catalogue would amount beyond 10 million yen.

 

”No one can make a donation for political activities of a candidate for public offices,” says Article 21-2 of Political Funds Control Act. Takaichi insisted that the gift for LDP lawmakers were made by the LDP Second Nara Electoral District, which representative was Takaichi as the candidate for the district. It is usual for an LDP candidate to represent its electoral branch all over Japan.

 

“I recognize that the gift had no legal problem as a donation from a branch of party to individual lawmakers,” said Takaichi in the Diet discussion. She explained that the gift was a reward for their effort in the election and hoped it to be used for their political activities. The gift was handed by the staffs of Takaichi at the offices of those lawmakers in the Diet.

 

The gift was a catalogue of various goods. They included a set of china, beef for steak, accessory made of pearl or travel voucher. The recipient can choose one of them from the catalogue within a range of price. It is not clear how those goods contribute to political activity of those lawmakers.

 

Former prime minister Shigeru Ishiba was accused in March 2025 of his distribution of gift certificate, each of them was worth 100 thousand yen, to fifteen LDP fresh lawmakers who won the Lower House election in October 2024. Ishiba’s gift faced severe criticism from the public. The people recognized that the prime minister gave nothing to the people who were suffering from price inflation, but gave gift certificate to his allies.

 

Takaichi’s indifference to distribution of gifts represents LDP’s sense of morality over political funds. “We cannot ignore that obsolete politics of the LDP, which allows distribution of gifts amounting to 10 million yen in the time when people are skeptical about politics and suffering from hardship in household,” said the leader of Centrist Reform Alliance, Jun-ya Ogawa. The opposition parties are going to ask further explanation of Takaichi.

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