Deputy Minister of Defense Ino acknowledged that there was no problem with the fact that it was reported that secretaries and family members were handing out condolences to voters in the constituency, as they were not handed over on their behalf.
The Japanese Communist Party's bulletin "Shinbun Akahata" said that the secretary and family members of State Minister of Defense Ino had handed condolence gifts on behalf of more than 300 voters in the electoral district of Gunma Prefecture over the four years until 2017. He was accused of violating election laws.
Regarding this, State Minister Ino told the House of Councilors General Affairs Committee, ``The secretary attended the funeral ceremony as a representative of the political party branch, and the ``2nd electoral district branch'' was written in the condolence gift, and the secretary's name was also given at the reception. The family was attending the funeral ceremony of the person who had a connection."
After that, he said, "In any case, it was not my representative, but the branch or the relationship with the deceased," and showed recognition that there was no problem.