LDP Accountant Indicted for Falsifying Fundraising Reports in Tokyo, Mirroring National Scandal

Tokyo LDP Accountant Indicted for Falsifying Fundraising Reports

An accountant for the Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) parliamentary group in the Tokyo metropolitan assembly has been indicted for failing to report approximately 35 million yen ($225,000) in political fundraising revenue. This incident mirrors a national-level scandal involving slush funds within LDP factions, including the Abe faction, which prosecutors investigated in 2024.

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office indicted Hidekatsu Yajima, 72, for violating the Political Fund Control Law by submitting falsified reports. The total unreported funds, including expenditures, amount to around 63 million yen.

This case highlights potential misconduct in fundraising reporting among LDP members at the local level, potentially impacting upcoming elections.

Alleged Scheme and Unreported Funds

Sources claim the LDP parliamentary group distributed 100 fundraising event tickets worth 2 million yen to each Tokyo assembly member, setting a sales quota of 50 tickets worth 1 million yen. Revenue exceeding the quota was kept by the assembly members, not submitted to the LDP group. Members selling all 100 tickets received additional fundraising tickets, splitting the proceeds with the LDP group.

Yajima is accused of failing to report approximately 35 million yen generated by assembly members in 2019 and 2022. Additionally, expenditures were understated by about 28 million yen in the reports.

Prosecutors' Decision and Expected Amendments

Prosecutors have decided not to pursue charges against individual assembly members, considering 30 million yen per individual as the threshold for filing charges related to falsifying financial reports.

The LDP group's financial reports listed fundraising party revenue as 62.46 million yen in 2019 and 61.12 million yen in 2022. The group is expected to amend its financial report soon.

National-Level Scandal

At the national level, prosecutors investigated a long-standing practice of withholding slush funds within LDP factions and failing to submit accurate funding reports. This included approximately 1.35 billion yen by the Abe faction, 380 million yen by the Nikai faction, and 30 million yen by the Kishida faction.

Prosecutors built cases against 11 individuals, including three faction accountants, four sitting and former lawmakers, and four secretaries.