Government is reviewing unreported political funds held by Abe’s secretary, who resigned in September due to illness.
Prosecutors have asked former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to come forward for voluntary questioning in a case they are building against his secretary over unreported political funds of up to 40 million yen ($ 382,848), Japanese media said Thursday .
Abe, who resigned on health grounds in September, is under fire after sources told the media that his office helped cover dinner party costs for backers in the event of a potential violation of funding laws. Abe vehemently denied the practice in parliament last year.
The scandal also threatens to embroil Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who was widely viewed as Abe’s right-hand man during his tenure and who defended him in parliament.
Abe’s secretary was quoted as telling investigators that the income and expenses “should have been included in the political finance report,” although “it was customary not to do so,” according to the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper.
Abe himself was asked by the Tokyo prosecutor to appear on voluntary questions on the matter, the media reported later Thursday.
Abe’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on either report, while a spokeswoman for the Tokyo District Prosecutor’s Office said she was unaware of the developments and that there was no case that the office would make any announcements while the investigation continued.
Impact on the ruling LDP
Prosecutors are building on the case of failing to report 14 million yen ($ 134,000) in five years as income and expenses for party attendee contributions – both as income and expenses – and another eight million yen ($ 76,000) Has. that Abe’s office was paying to cover deficits in party costs that were not covered by contributions, the Yomiuri said. The newspaper did not elaborate on how the remaining 18 million yen was spent.
Politicians in Japan are prohibited from giving constituents anything that could be construed as a gift. The rule is so strict that two ministers in Abe’s cabinet had to resign in quick succession over the past year to give voters in their constituencies things like melons, crabs and even potatoes.
The growing scandal threatens to entangle Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who was widely viewed as Abe’s right-hand man during his tenure and who defended him in parliament [File: Eugene Hoshiko/Pool via Reuters]Abe had repeatedly said in parliament that “no income or expenditure needs to be included in the political finance report” and denied that his office had bridged the gap between ticket sales and the party’s costs.
The former prime minister said last week he was aware of the allegations and promised that his office would “work fully with prosecutors”.
Last week Suga diverted questions about how he would take responsibility for inaccurate statements in Parliament but said, “If what I said turns out to be deviating from the facts, I will probably take action, as I am for it I am responsible for my answers. “
A politician from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) who is close to both Abe and Suga told Reuters that the investigation could take a toll in the long term.
“If Abe’s secretary is arrested and Abe questioned, it will damage the overall picture of the LDP,” he said.
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