Japanese prosecutors fail to prove executive-level collusion in 'slush fund scandal'... Abe and Kishida factions declare 'dissolution' (Comprehensive)

On the 19th, prosecutors investigating the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) 'slush fund scandal' in Japan concluded their investigation by deciding not to indict faction executive-level lawmakers. Only the accounting officers of each faction were prosecuted, failing to prove the involvement of executive-level lawmakers.

However, this investigation triggered significant political repercussions in Japan, with three factions?including the largest 'Abe faction,' as well as the Kishida faction and Nikai faction?announcing their dissolution.

According to Kyodo News, NHK, Yonhap News, and others, the Tokyo District Prosecutors Office's Special Investigation Division filed non-custodial indictments against the accounting officers of the Abe faction and Nikai faction on charges of violating the Political Funds Control Act, and issued a summary indictment against the former accounting officer of the Kishida faction. The Special Investigation Division investigated allegations that over five years from 2018 to 2022, the Abe faction failed to record 675.03 million yen (approximately 6.1 billion KRW), the Nikai faction 264.6 million yen (approximately 2.4 billion KRW), and the Kishida faction 30.59 million yen (approximately 280 million KRW) of raised funds in faction political fund income and expenditure reports or individual lawmaker accounting books, instead using them as slush funds.

During this process, Cabinet Secretary Matsuno Hirokazu and other Abe faction ministers and party executives all resigned.

However, prosecutors judged that it was difficult to prove collusion between faction executive lawmakers and accounting officers, and decided not to file charges against the executive lawmakers. It is reported that no evidence was secured to prove collusion while the executive lawmakers denied the allegations. Ultimately, the Tokyo District Prosecutors Office's Special Investigation Division's slush fund scandal investigation did not lead to criminal punishment of high-profile politicians.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida
Photo by Yonhap News

Nonetheless, the political impact of this investigation was considerable. On the same day, Prime Minister Kishida announced the dissolution of the Kishida faction (Kochi Policy Research Council), which he had led. The Kishida faction, which Prime Minister Kishida chaired until last month, is the fourth largest faction in the LDP with 46 members.

The Abe faction also held a temporary party members' meeting in the evening and announced at a press conference that the faction would be dissolved. The Abe faction is the largest faction within the LDP, with 98 members. Since 2000, it has produced four prime ministers: Mori Yoshiro, Koizumi Junichiro, Abe Shinzo, and Fukuda Yasuo.

Prior to the Abe faction, Nikai, the chairman of the Nikai faction?the fifth largest faction within the LDP?also held a press conference on the same day and announced the dissolution of the Nikai faction in relation to the political funds issue.