"Promised to Eliminate LDP Corruption"…But Prime Minister Ishiba Himself Gave Bribes [Japanese Side]

Prime Minister Ishiba's 'Gift Certificate Scandal' Spreads Further
Elected Amid Liberal Democratic Party's 'Political Funds Scandal' Turmoil
Promised Political Reform and Revision of the Political Funds Control Act
Now Faces Controversy Over Possible Violation of the Same Law

This week, Japan is abuzz with the Prime Minister's 'gift certificate scandal.' It all started when it was revealed that Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru, who took office last October, provided gift certificates to first-term lawmakers. Moreover, Prime Minister Ishiba is facing strong backlash after saying, "Distributing gift certificates is a common practice and not a problem." Initially elected with the image of a down-to-earth 'otaku uncle' who collects plastic models, this scandal has delivered an even bigger shock. Today, we bring you the story of Prime Minister Ishiba and the gift certificate scandal surrounding him.

Prime Minister Ishiba is so familiar to the Japanese people that they even call him 'Geru-chan.' He has given speeches dressed as Majin Buu from Dragon Ball, shown himself as a plastic model enthusiast and an idol fan.

Yonhap News

Here is an article about the 'Otaku Prime Minister'

Because of this approachable image, the Japanese media coined the term 'Otaku Prime Minister' in Japanese to describe him. However, this fun and hopeful image was shattered in an instant by an incident.

The incident occurred on the 3rd. Prime Minister Ishiba and 15 members of the House of Representatives from his party had a dinner gathering, during which it was reported that gift certificates worth about 100,000 yen (approximately 980,000 KRW) were handed to one person. It was said to be a commemorative gift to encourage first-term lawmakers. At the time, the surprised lawmakers even refused and returned the gift certificates.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is giving a speech wearing a costume of the Dragon Ball character 'Majin Buu' at the opening ceremony of the figure exhibition hall in Kumayoshi City, Tottori Prefecture in 2018. Photo by FNN.

This became public through the media. The press criticized it as an act violating the Political Funds Control Act or the Public Offices Election Act. However, Prime Minister Ishiba said, "Since I am also the president of the Liberal Democratic Party, this was a dinner gift given as an apology for the hard work of first-term lawmakers and is unrelated to political activities," and went further by saying, "Distributing gift certificates is a frequent occurrence in politics."

In fact, this statement by Prime Minister Ishiba was not only a gaffe but also completely denied how he was elected. This is because the previous Prime Minister Kishida Fumio's administration was embroiled in a 'slush fund scandal.' In Japan, political factions organize 'parties' to raise political funds. Major factions, including the Abe faction led by the late former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, sold party tickets beyond their quotas, and the excess profits were allegedly used to create slush funds.

When investigations revealed this to be true, lawmakers affiliated with factions involved in the slush fund scandal either did not run in the general election or were not nominated, and the party failed to secure its target number of seats in the election. This effectively began to shake the Liberal Democratic Party's dominance. Eventually, former Prime Minister Kishida also failed to secure reappointment and stepped down.

Prime Minister Ishiba was able to seize this opportunity because he was not affiliated with any particular faction. He was originally classified as a non-mainstream and moderate figure within the party. Although there were concerns about his weak central position, he was not involved in the slush fund scandal and was the right person for the situation at the time. After being elected Prime Minister, Ishiba himself expressed his intention to become a leader of reform by saying, "I will return to the starting point and work on political reform," including revising the Political Funds Control Act.

Given this, the fact that Prime Minister Ishiba distributed gift certificates and even said, "This is customary, so there is no problem," naturally caused the public to feel several times more disappointed. As a result of this incident, the approval rating of the Ishiba Cabinet plummeted to its lowest level since its launch last October. The opposition parties also began demanding his resignation.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (left) is campaigning for the general election at Onahama Fish Market in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture. Photo by Yonhap News.

Moreover, this incident has sparked controversy throughout the entire Liberal Democratic Party. It has become the 'ball shot up by Prime Minister Ishiba.' It was revealed that distributing gift certificates like this has been a customary practice within the party. Former Prime Minister Kishida also handed out gift certificates at public meetings, and former Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide's side admitted to giving 'simple tokens of appreciation.'

Nevertheless, the call for replacing the Prime Minister, the so-called 'removal theory,' seems to be settling down. The Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) reported that "although some have demanded resignation, few openly advocate it," indicating that the momentum for resignation is not strong.

In fact, if Prime Minister Ishiba were to resign, the other candidates for the next leadership would be formidable. In the recent Liberal Democratic Party presidential election, the frontrunner in the preliminary round was Takaiichi Sanae, a former Minister of Economic Security and a far-right politician who succeeded former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo. This raises the possibility of a return to an era of far-right politics.

In any case, the promise he made to the people has been broken just six months into his administration. While some believe that Japan's low political interest will allow this to pass without major issues, the slush fund scandal has gradually started to crack the Liberal Democratic Party's dominance. How this political situation is managed will be crucial.