China News Service, November 25. According to the Japan Jiji News Agency, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga was questioned in the House of Representatives on the morning of the 25th local time. When asked about the suspected misappropriation of public funds for banquets by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Yoshihide Suga Make it clear that he is not directly related to this matter.
Data map: Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.
According to reports, Yoshihide Suga made this response when answering a question from the leader of the Cadet Party, Yukio Edano.
Yoshihide Suga also emphasized that in this matter, Abe has emphasized that his office will fully cooperate with the prosecutor's investigation.
In addition, Yoshihide Suga did not comment on the opposition party's request to invite Abe to the Congress to accept questions on related issues, saying only that "this matter is decided by the Congress."
Data map: Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attended the "Sakura Viewing Party" held in Shinjuku Gyoen, Tokyo.
Photo by Sun Ran from China News Agency
According to previous reports, from 2013 to 2019, the Abe government will hold a large-scale banquet called the "Eve Festival" on the eve of the "Cherry Blossom Festival".
A few days ago, Abe’s support club has admitted that in five years, they spent a total of 9.16 million yen (approximately 577,000 yuan) to fill the shortfall in activity funds.
The Special Search Department of the Tokyo Metropolitan Prosecution Office is discussing whether to file an investigation against Abe and its support association.
Regarding the specific source of funds, it is still under investigation.
Some opposition parties have pointed out that Abe may have used public funds to entertain his supporters by taking advantage of the "cherry blossom viewing party."
However, Abe denied all the allegations and said that his support club had no revenue or expenditure during the "Eve Ceremony".
Since 1952, the Japanese government has held cherry blossom viewing parties in Shinjuku Gyoen, the capital of Tokyo, inviting representatives from all walks of life to admire the cherry blossoms with the prime minister. The government shall bear the cost.
During Abe's administration, the cherry blossom viewing club budget increased significantly.
According to data from the Cabinet Office of Japan, the expenditure for the cherry blossom viewing event in 2014 was about 30 million yen, which increased to 55 million yen in 2019, and the number of participants increased from about 14,000 to 18,000.