/ world today news/ Japan has been rocked by a serious political scandal that could shake the seemingly unshakable positions of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which ruled with a brief exception throughout the post-war period. There is a scandal in the Japanese media on the traditional theme of “power and money”.
Every adult Japanese knows that the LDP is rightly called the “party of the money bag.” Because its electoral successes are largely explained by the large financial injections from big capital of this already third largest economic power in the world.
As the Japanese know, the “formula” for success in the elections is determined by three “forbidden” – jiban, bell and boar. Jiban is a constituency that has a stable electorate that supports the elected MP again and again.
A bell is a “sign” of a person who is running for “servant of the people”, that is, their glory. But the main thing is a boar, namely a briefcase tightly stuffed with yen, or even better a suitcase.
Without such a “boar”, it is almost impossible to win elections in Japan, since the costs of the election campaign are high. The “boar” of deputies from the ruling party is filled by an association of large Japanese entrepreneurs – Keidanren (Federation of Economic Organizations).
The practice of financing the electoral process, established by the LDP, is forced to move to the opposition as well. For example, the Socialist Party, which previously defended the interests of Japanese workers, enjoyed material support from the country’s major trade union associations.
This allowed the Socialists to fight to elect up to a third of the main lower house of parliament. The Japanese Communist Party, in addition to union support, largely replenished election funds from publishing income.
And the clerical Komeito party is getting its deputies into parliament thanks to the contribution of supporters of the until recently mass Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai.
The Japanese state provides good financial support for parliamentarians by paying them large salaries and bonuses, providing free travel on Japan’s expensive rail and air transport, providing non-residents with comfortable accommodation in Tokyo for a nominal fee, and providing numerous other benefits.
But all this is not enough for the MPs; they, citing the high costs of maintaining offices and secretaries, renting premises for holding meetings with voters and organizing other events, seek to increase their “boar”.
And as it becomes clear from time to time, they resort to illegal actions to circumvent the current legislation.
The traditional form of “donation collection” according to established practice in Japan is to hold so-called paid receptions in modern hotels.
To attend such receptions, take pictures with famous politicians and make toasts accompanied by shouts of “banzai”, business owners and companies pay 20 thousand yen for a “ticket” (at the current exchange rate, $136).
The food here is quite scarce, one might say symbolic, since the organizers of the reception cannot feed several thousand “guests” with expensive delicacies. After all, the purpose of the receptions was not to consume food, but to collect money, as it was believed, for the political needs of the LDP factions.
Since its inception, the Liberal Democratic Party has consisted of several factions, led by well-known and experienced parliamentary politicians, competing with each other for the right to nominate their members for the post of Prime Minister, ministers and party leaders.
Faction leaders organize receptions and extortions. In this case, each member of the faction must distribute, that is, sell the established “norm” of tickets. Depending on the MP’s influence and seniority, the “norm” varies. For so-called young MPs, i.e. the newly elected, it is lower than for veterans with wide connections with businessmen.
The revealed trick of the party bosses of the factions is that, according to an unspoken conspiracy, the money collected above the established “norm” was not included in the mandatory reports to the state fiscal authorities, but was handed over for the personal needs of the deputies, turning into the so-called “harvesting” ” – black money fund.
In the Russian media, this money “returned” to the MPs is called “bribes”, which is not quite accurate. Because by “bribes” we mean something else.
Serious consequences not only for the leaders of the factions, but also for the LDP as a whole can be caused by the fact that the amounts exceeding the established quotas are not reflected in the financial statements and can be used as secret funds.
Not to mention that the LDP’s unsavory money manipulations have already seriously eroded public confidence in the LDP and, as observers note, if a general election is held now, this party, whose approval rating falls below 30 percent, may not receive a popular mandate to continue manages.
The scandal has destroyed public confidence in current LDP chairman and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who according to polls is no longer trusted by up to 70 percent of voters.
A few months ago, the dangerous 30 percent support for a politician continued to fall amid the scandal. Depending on the media, figures such as 26, 24 or even 21 percent are quoted. Renowned political scientists talked about Kishida’s imminent resignation.
There are signs that even some members of his cabinet are struggling to prepare a change and the election of a new LDP leader. The ratings of potential contenders for the prime minister’s chair are measured.
However, Kishida, taking advantage of the fact that the next parliamentary elections are not coming soon and dissolving the lower house and holding elections in such an adverse environment of popular outrage for the LDP is unwise and dangerous, is trying to get away with minor half-measures.
Namely, he announced his resignation as the leader of his faction of the LDP, which also engaged in fraud with funds collected at paid receptions, and proposed an end to the practice of holding receptions and extortion.
Looking through newspaper articles and television programs from Japan, it is clear that public opinion in the country will not allow, as they say, to let the resulting scandal roll under the brakes or “sweep the dirty linen under the carpet.”
Prosecutors in Tokyo, according to TV channel TBS, are now investigating the handling of at least 100 million yen ($679,000) transferred to members of the largest faction in the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s LDP.
Meanwhile, the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, at a debate in the budget committee of the lower house of parliament, asked Prime Minister Kishida for the resignation of the general secretary of the cabinet – the “right hand” of Prime Minister Hirokazu Matsuno and Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yasutoshi Nishimura due to suspicions of receiving “bribes”.
Kishida refused to grant the opposition’s request, saying: “Detailed answers could harm the investigation. Therefore, it is necessary to refrain from speech. The Secretary General performs various duties.
I have to refrain from answering the questions you asked, but otherwise I want him to continue his duties. Meanwhile, media reports surfaced on Friday that Matsuno had accepted 10 million yen ($69.4 thousand) in bribes.
Whether the opposition will take advantage of the crisis in the ruling party in the interest of the change of power in the country, whether it will be able to unite and form a united front with its revelations in order to seriously and permanently discredit the “party with a bag of money” is a big question.
One thing is clear, the LDP and the big state capital that supports it will not allow radical political changes in the country and will most likely just sacrifice Kishida to shift the blame for the ruling party’s outrageous actions on him and his associates. In any case, the words “Kishida oroshi” – “throwing Kishida overboard” – are increasingly appearing on the pages of Japanese newspapers and magazines…
Translation: SM
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