Paths to tighter political donations rules in Japan remain unclear

Paths to strengthen regulations on political donations from corporations and organizations in Japan remain unclear, as ruling and opposition parties are wide apart over the matter.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party plans to continue prioritizing reducing seats in the House of Representatives over tightening rules on corporate political donations during a parliamentary session this autumn.

The Centrist Reform Alliance, the main opposition party in the Lower House, aims to focus attention on the issue of politics and money by highlighting allegations of financial misconduct by LDP members in the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi withheld comment when urged by a CRA lawmaker to tighten regulations on corporate political donations at a parliamentary meeting late last month. She only said this is a matter that “each parliamentary party and group should discuss.”

During the latest parliamentary session ended in July, the CRA and the Democratic Party for the People, another opposition party, jointly introduced a bill to limit recipients of corporate political donations to party headquarters and prefectural chapters.

Sanseito and Team Mirai, also opposition parties, jointly introduced a separate bill that would impose a complete ban on such donations.

The LDP and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, countered those proposals by introducing a bill to leave the issue to an expert panel, aiming to allow such donations to continue.

The Lower House committee on political reform deliberated those bills, but failed to reach a conclusion before the parliamentary session ended.

The JIP originally advocated a total ban on corporate political donations. The party agreed to keep such donations in place in return for forcing the LDP to accept Lower House seat reductions when they formed the coalition last year.

Many LDP members think that political activities would be significantly affected if corporate donations are abolished. “We can’t accept such regulations at all,” an LDP lawmaker said. “We have to prioritize the coalition agreement,” a senior LDP member said.

The CRA pushed to tighten regulations on political donations during the latest parliamentary session following its crushing defeat in February’s Lower House election.

At the same time, however, some party members had already been less confident of passing tighter regulations. A medium-ranking CRA lawmaker said “stricter regulations won’t go ahead unless the LDP supports them.”

The Fukuoka scandal may offer an opportunity to create a turning point. Several LDP members in the prefectural assembly allegedly received money from candidates for the assembly speaker position.

“The issue of politics and money lies behind these allegations,” CRA Secretary-General Takeshi Shina said at a news conference on Tuesday. “The issue of political donations should be handled before seat reductions at an extraordinary parliamentary session,” he said.