China News Service, November 25. According to a report by Japan’s Asahi Shimbun on the 25th, sources revealed that the former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was suspected of embezzling public funds to hold a banquet on the eve of the "Cherry Blossom Festival" (the eve of the festival). Abe’s support club admitted In the five years from 2015 to 2019, a total of 9.16 million yen (approximately RMB 577,000) was used to fill the shortfall in activity funds.
Data map: Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
According to reports, from 2015 to 2019, the hotels hosting the "Eve Festival" received a total of 23 million yen in event funds, but in these five years, the total amount of participation fees collected by Abe and its supporters from participants was only about 14 million yen. .
According to the report, the hotel that hosted the event stated that they received this part of the balance from Abe and its support association and issued a receipt to it. The receipt appears to be a fund management organization called "Jinhe Association". The representative of the group is Abe himself.
In this regard, the Special Search Department of the Tokyo Metropolitan Procuratorate believes that this receipt is sufficient to prove that the shortfall in activity funds was filled by Abe and its support association.
At present, the Special Search Department is discussing whether Abe's move violated the "Political Funds Regulation Act" and whether to file an investigation against Abe and its support association.
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, the specific source of funds is currently 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".
In addition, he responded on November 24 that he "will fully cooperate with the investigation."
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.