A party subsidy of 120 million yen from the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters to the party branch of Mr. and Mrs. Kawai September 25, 19:25
Prior to last year's House of Councilors election, former Minister of Justice Katsuyuki Kawai and his wife, Anri Kawai, received a tax-funded party subsidy of 120 million yen from the LDP headquarters.25 I found out in the report released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications on the day.
The two party branches say it is unclear how the funds will be used because documents have been seized in the acquisition.
Former Minister of Justice Katsuyuki Kawai (57) and his wife Anri Kawai (47), a member of the House of Councilors, were charged with the acquisition in the Upper House election last year, and the flow of funds has also been the focus of the investigation.
According to the "Report on the Use of Political Party Grants, etc." released today by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, before the election in July, the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters responded to the "LDP Hiroshima Prefectural Council Electoral District 7th Branch" represented by Representative Anri
▽ 15 million yen a month,
▽ 30 million yen in May
,
▽ 30 million yen in
June
,
▽
45 million yen in June
for the "Liberal Democratic Party Hiroshima Prefecture 3rd Electoral District Branch" represented by former Minister Kawai
It states that you have spent.
Excluding the funds uniformly distributed to the members of parliament, the party subsidy funded by the taxes received by the two branches from the party headquarters before the election is 120 million yen.
Representatives such as Anri Kawai admitted that the funds received from the LDP headquarters before the election were 150 million yen, of which 120 million yen, 80% was tax-funded political party subsidies. ..
In this report, it is necessary to attach a receipt for the expenditure and describe the other party and the amount, but the two branches say that it is unknown because the documents were seized in the prosecution's investigation, and the usage of a large amount of funds is It remains unknown.
Professor Tomoaki Iwai of the Faculty of Law, Nihon University, who is familiar with political funding, said, "It is not illegal, but this time 120 million yen is a tax, and it is not allowed to neglect it. It was not diverted to the acquisition fund. It is natural for the public to have doubts about this, and it is our responsibility to clarify and explain the purpose of use in order to dispel the suspicions. "
Liberal Democratic Party Headquarters Amount to Mr. and Mrs. Kawai More than 6 times the average of other candidates
Prior to last year's Upper House election, the LDP headquarters spent an average of over 18.5 million yen on the other 48 candidates in the constituencies nationwide, with a maximum of 47 million yen. The amount to is more than 6 times the average.
In addition, while the Liberal Democratic Party provided funds of 10 million yen or more once or twice, it has been provided four times to Senator Kuri.
Among the candidates for other political parties before the Upper House election last year, the Constitutional Democratic Party averaged more than 21.8 million yen, the highest was 44.6 million yen, and the Democratic Party for the People averaged about 16.7 million yen, the highest was 35 million yen, etc. , The party subsidy of 120 million yen received by former Minister Kawai and Senator Anri is large even if other parties are included.
"If it's all, it will stand out badly, so divide it into two branches."
In the trial of the acquisition case by former Minister of Justice Kawai and his wife, Anri Kawai, Anri Kawai received 30 million yen as a source of funds other than the political party subsidy in addition to the 120 million yen stated in this report. Has been pointed out.
The prosecution says that a total of 150 million yen was used to support the activities of Senator Kuri, and 75 million yen was allocated to each of the two branches.
During the trial, a former employee who was in charge of accounting at the office of former Minister Kawai was told by the secretary at that time that he was "divided into two branches because it stands out as a whole". I testified.
Former Minister Kawai and Senator Anri both pleaded not guilty to the acquisition of a violation of the Public Offices Election Act, and according to the people concerned, former Minister Kawai explained to the surroundings that the cash distributed to local lawmakers was taken from the funds on hand. It means that it is.
All spending is "unknown"
The "Political Party Subsidy Usage Report" is a document submitted to the national government by the headquarters or branch of a political party regarding the income and expenditure related to the grant issued by the national government based on the Political Party Subsidy Law.
A part of the contents of the "Political Funds Balance Report" published in November every year will be described and will be released in advance in late September.
Former Minister of Justice Kawai and Representative Anri Kawai each submitted a report in February, and all the expenditures were "unknown."
The reason is stated as "Because the related documents have been seized, the breakdown of the purpose of use is unknown and cannot be described. The unknown part will be corrected when it becomes clear."