LDP to Discipline 39 'Slush Fund Lawmakers' Excluding Kishida

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is expected by local media to discipline 39 out of 82 lawmakers involved in the 'slush fund scandal,' excluding Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida appeared before the Tokyo House of Councillors Budget Committee on the 25th of last month and responded to questions. [Image source=Yonhap News]

According to reports from public broadcaster NHK and Kyodo News on the 1st, the LDP executive board plans to decide on sanctions against 39 lawmakers whose political funding report discrepancies exceeded 5 million yen (approximately 44.6 million KRW) between 2018 and 2022, as well as former faction leaders who caused political distrust, at the party disciplinary committee meeting scheduled as early as the 4th.

The majority of the lawmakers subject to sanctions belong to the largest faction, the 'Abe faction,' with 36 members. The remaining three were active in the 'Nikai faction.' The LDP executive board is reported to recommend expulsion followed by the second heaviest sanction, a recommendation to leave the party, for four senior members of the Abe faction who discussed the slush fund issue: ▲Shionoya Ryu ▲Shimomura Hakubun ▲Nishimura Yasutoshi ▲Seko Hiroshige.

However, local media reported that Prime Minister Kishida and former LDP Secretary-General Nikai Toshihiro, who announced he would not run in the general election, were excluded from the disciplinary measures. About 40 others whose discrepancies did not exceed 5 million yen are planned to receive warnings.

Earlier, the LDP had leaned toward strict punishment for some lawmakers considering the next election. However, Asahi Shimbun pointed out that criticism may arise as party president Kishida is exempt from punishment. The Kishida Cabinet's approval rating is hampered by the slush fund issue, recording a crisis-level 10 to 20 percent in major media opinion polls.