Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Political Renewal Headquarters Meets for All Parliamentarians, Debates on Factions

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) held a meeting of the "Political Reform Headquarters" on the 16th for all members of the Liberal Democratic Party. Regarding the faction, some attendees expressed the opinion that it should be dissolved because of the suspicions raised by the public, while others pointed out that it was necessary from the viewpoint of human resource development.

Approximately 150 people attended the meeting, and at the beginning of the meeting, Prime Minister Kishida said, "We must take the situation in which the LDP is under the scrutiny of the public and the people are suspicious of it as an extremely serious situation, and we must face it with a strong sense of urgency and unity."

The meeting lasted for about three hours, and while attendees expressed the opinion that the faction should be resolved as long as there were suspicions from the public, it was pointed out that it was necessary because it also had a role in human resource development and information sharing.

In addition, there were a series of voices that said, "Even if the faction remains, it should be changed to an organization that does not raise funds or coordinate personnel."

On the other hand, several opinions were expressed arguing that it is necessary to strengthen the penalties of the Political Funds Control Law in order to prevent recurrence, and a proposal was presented to introduce a system in which politicians are also held responsible if there is a false statement in the income and expenditure report.

In addition, there were voices such as "It is strange that no one has explained the history of the series of problems," and several members of the Abe faction said that "the Abe faction should be dissolved."

On the 3th, the Headquarters will listen to opinions from outside experts, including legal and accounting experts, and will hold another meeting for all members of the House of Representatives to consolidate opinions toward an interim compilation.

No faction: Councillor Wada: "Factions should be abolished altogether"

Masamune Wada, a member of the House of Councillors who is not a faction, told reporters, "I called for the abolition of all factions in order to fulfill the promises made to the people in the Political Reform Outline, and I also said that the party should set up a strong audit body and respond as a party by expelling members and prohibiting candidates from running for office if they violate the law. I believe that if we do something half-heartedly, we risk losing power, and we should firmly carry out party reforms."

No faction: Former Deputy Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare Mihara "Dissolve factions and discuss from scratch"

Junko Mihara, a former vice minister of health, labor and welfare who is not a faction, told reporters, "Since the faction is suspicious of the people, it should be dissolved first and the discussion should start from scratch. That's why we have a sense of urgency, and we have to do it."

Abe faction, Acting Secretary-General of the House of Councillors Okada: "Responsibility for participation regardless of faction"

Okada, the acting secretary-general of the House of Councillors of the Abe faction, told reporters, "Since this is a party-wide discussion, we have a responsibility to participate in the discussion, regardless of which faction we belong to. Regarding his own accountability, he said, "I want to give a thorough explanation at the same time that I fulfill my accountability as an Abe supporter, and I hope that it will not be long before I do so."

Former Deputy Defense Minister Miyazawa of the Abe faction: "The Abe faction should be dissolved"

Former Vice Defense Minister Hiroyuki Miyazawa, a member of the Abe faction, who revealed that he had once been instructed by a faction not to include party ticket revenues in excess of the quota, told reporters, "I am of the opinion that the Abe faction should be dissolved as long as it is causing trouble to the party and the people. There were other opinions from several people in the faction, so I would like to proceed firmly. It is a problem due to a lack of law-abiding spirit, and penalties need to be strengthened."

Abe faction, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Defense Matsumoto: "Without entering the first term, where is the 'renewal'?"

Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Defense Hisashi Matsumoto, a first-term member of the Abe faction, told reporters, "None of the members of the headquarters are first-term students, so where is the 'renewal'? It is also strange that all personnel decisions in the LDP are decided by the number of times they are elected, and they should be decided by looking at the people."

Abe faction, Wakabayashi, member of the House of Representatives: "Party ban, Abe faction should be disbanded"

Kenta Wakabayashi, a member of the House of Representatives from the Abe faction, told reporters, "We talked about whether it would be better to ban all political fundraising parties of the faction, and I said that the Abe faction's 'Seiwa Policy Study Group' should also be dissolved."

Moriyama faction: Former State Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Tanase "Firm renewal"

Former Vice Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Taimichi Tanose, who is a member of the Moriyama faction, told reporters, "At the headquarters, I said, 'Let's renew it thoroughly,' and I don't think the faction itself is evil."

Nikai faction Nakasone Deputy Director of Youth Bureau: "Factions should be eliminated"

Yasutaka Nakasone, deputy director of the Nikai faction's youth bureau, told reporters, "I said that the Political Funds Control Law should be subject to stricter penalties such as the joint sitting system and the transparency of the movement of money, and that the factions should be abolished by reconciliating personnel and abolishing parties, and that the factions that have dragged on the current bad practices should be eliminated."

Former Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Washio of the Nikai faction: "There is a faction role, parties should be banned"

Eiichiro Washio, a former vice minister for foreign affairs of the Nikai faction, told reporters, "I told him that factions have important aspects, such as human resource development and organizational organization, so I would like them to think carefully about that.

Aso faction: Former Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Yamada: "No denial of factions or groups"

Kenji Yamada, a former vice minister for foreign affairs from the Aso faction, told reporters, "It is democracy in itself for people with similar ideas and policies to gather and spread their opinions, so it is not a denial of factions and groups. He also said, "It is not a matter of whether there is a faction or not, but what is important is to follow the law properly, and regardless of whether or not you are indicted, as a party, we must check the facts and take action."

Secretary-General Okada: "It is strange for lawmakers involved in backroom money to participate in discussions"

Okada, secretary-general of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, said at a press conference, "It has been reported that some members of the 'Political Reform Headquarters' may have been involved in the backroom money, and it is strange that such lawmakers are participating in political reform discussions as a matter of course without any explanation or apology to the public. Not only the person himself, but also Prime Minister Kishida's stance must be questioned."

In relation to the incident surrounding the political fundraising party of the LDP faction, he said, "I was very surprised and completely strange when it was reported that the prosecution of the Abe faction cadres would be postponed.