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8 hours ago
Summary Indictment Eyed for Japan LDP Hagiuda's Secretary
News from Japan Aug 3, 2025 16:03 (JST) Tokyo, Aug. 3 (Jiji Press)--Tokyo prosecutors are considering issuing a summary indictment of Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Koichi Hagiuda's policy secretary for violating the political funds control law over the LDP's slush fund scandal, sources said Sunday. The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office is considering such an action after a panel of citizens ruled that the secretary of Hagiuda, a member of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament, should be prosecuted. A summary indictment requires the consent of the person. If no consent is obtained, the secretary is expected to be indicted without arrest. In a criminal complaint filed by a university professor, the secretary is accused of not including a total of 22.9 million yen in kickbacks from the now-defunct LDP faction linked to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in political funds reports for 2019 to 2022. In December last year, the prosecutors office decided not to indict the secretary. But in June this year, the prosecution inquest panel in Tokyo demanded the person's indictment, saying, "If we continue to let such cases escape prosecution, false entries in such reports will never disappear." [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
Nikkei Asia
9 hours ago
- Nikkei Asia
Secretary to Japan's LDP lawmaker to be indicted over fund scandal
TOKYO -- Prosecutors have decided to indict a secretary to veteran ruling party lawmaker Koichi Hagiuda, overturning an earlier decision not to charge the aide over a failure to report about 20 million yen ($135,000) in political funds, investigative sources said Sunday. The move marks the first time that prosecutors have decided to pursue a criminal case, following a prosecution review panel decision, related to the Liberal Democratic Party slush fund scandal, reflecting persisting public frustration over the issue. Hagiuda was minister for economy and trade, among other responsibilities, under former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and minister for education under Kishida's predecessor Yoshihide Suga. He has not been included in Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Cabinet. The secretary was not indicted in 2024, with prosecutors granting a stay of prosecution. In June, however, a Tokyo committee for the inquest of prosecution ruled the aide should be indicted. Prosecutors now plan to issue a summary indictment. A summary indictment allows prosecutors to seek a fine through written procedures without a formal trial. If the secretary does not consent, prosecutors are expected to file a regular indictment and request a public trial without detaining the individual. The omitted funds totaled 27.28 million yen over five years through 2022, according to the LDP. About 19.52 million yen from 2020 to 2022 was subject to prosecution under the political funds control law, as amounts prior to 2020 were beyond the statute of limitations. The prosecution review panel pointed to the secretary's repeated misconduct and destruction of receipts, calling the case particularly egregious. It warned that failure to indict may encourage others to engage in similar conduct in the future. The LDP, which has been in power for much of the time since 1955, has come under intense scrutiny after some of its now-defunct factions, such as one headed by the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, failed to report income from fundraising events and amassed slush funds. Hagiuda, also a former LDP policy chief, was known as a confidant of Abe, who once led the party's largest faction that was influential in selecting prime ministers. Abe, Japan's longest-serving premier, was assassinated in 2022 during a campaign speech. Since the surfacing of the slush funds scandal in late 2023, public trust in the LDP has plunged, taking a heavy toll on the party even in recent elections. Over the past year, the LDP-led ruling coalition lost its majority in both chambers of parliament. In May 2024, prosecutors decided not to indict Hagiuda, but the case was sent for review. The panel later ruled the non-indictment appropriate, citing a lack of evidence. In October's House of Representatives election, he ran as an independent and won, although the LDP did not endorse him due to his involvement in the scandal. Hagiuda was again endorsed by the LDP following his successful reelection. After the party's major setback in the July 20 House of Councillors election, he has been among the veteran lawmakers urging Ishiba to step down.
a day ago
Japan PM Ishiba Unlikely to Announce View on WWII Soon
News from Japan Politics Aug 2, 2025 22:35 (JST) Tokyo, Aug. 2 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has decided not to announce his view on World War II on Aug. 15, the 80th anniversary of his country's surrender in the war, sources said Saturday. Ishiba had also considered announcing the view on Sept. 2, the date when Japan signed the surrender document in 1945, but no such announcement is likely to be made that day, senior officials of the government and Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party said. Ishiba is still seeking an appropriate time to announce his view, which would be based on the results of a review of the war. But some expect that it would be difficult to make such an announcement, which could intensify calls for his resignation that emerged within the LDP following the party's rout in the July 20 election for the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of parliament. Japan had issued a prime minister's statement to mark each of the 50th, 60th and 70th anniversaries of the country's surrender in the war. The tradition could be broken by Ishiba. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
