In the Diet, the House of Councilors' Budget Committee held intensive deliberations in response to an incident involving a political funding party run by a faction of the Liberal Democratic Party. Prime Minister Kishida stated that the party would proceed with interviews with those involved and then clarify political responsibility.
Intensive deliberations by the House of Councilors Budget Committee took place following the morning session of the House of Representatives.
▽Former Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Isozaki of the Liberal Democratic Party said, ``Why is the prosecutor's handling different depending on the amount when there are false statements?If the faction had set up a system for refunding money and not filling it out on income and expenditure reports, and the members had just followed it.'' Some say that those who made the decision should be held accountable.What do you think about political responsibility?'' he asked.
In response, Prime Minister Kishida said, ``The legal responsibility was pursued by the prosecutors, and the judgment made is very heavy, but from a political standpoint, we must fulfill our accountability and consider our political responsibility as a party.'' ``We will understand the actual situation and consider responses regarding political responsibility.''
▽Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan's Hiroto Kumagai commented on clarifying the facts of the incident, saying, ``They say they will hold the members accountable, but by when are they going to proceed with hearings?What is the deadline for clarifying the facts? Is that what you mean?” I asked.
In response, Prime Minister Kishida said, ``The political funds income and expenditure report will continue to be amended in response to the prosecutor's investigation, but the party will also strive to fully understand the actual situation regarding political responsibility.'' The party would like to make a decision on how to respond as soon as possible while also monitoring the correction work."
▽Komeito's House of Councilors Secretary-General Taniai said, ``Even if members alone discuss measures to prevent a recurrence, there will always be criticism that it is insufficient.''I think an independent third-party organization is needed to oversee political funds in order to regain trust in politics.'' ” he pointed out.
In response, Prime Minister Kishida said, ``In Japan, discussions have been held between the viewpoint of freedom of political activities such as political parties and the right of the people to know.When it comes to establishing an independent organization, freedom of political activities has been held. "This is closely related to this. Each party and faction will have a discussion, and the Liberal Democratic Party will also seriously address this debate."
▽ Regarding the introduction of the ``co-account system,'' in which Diet members are also held responsible if there is a false statement in the income and expenditure report, Otokita, chairman of the political affairs research committee of the Japan Restoration Association, said, ``Not only the accounting officer but also the politician himself/herself will be directly responsible.'' "There should be a system in which people are held accountable. It is normal in private companies for top executives to take responsibility and resign if serious misconduct is discovered, and those in public office should have a higher sense of ethics and responsibility than those in private companies." It's approaching.
In response, Prime Minister Kishida said, ``I agree that it is important to take measures to increase the deterrence of violations by taking strict measures when they violate the Political Funds Control Act. "I would like to have a sincere discussion. We will have a discussion after we have summarized our views as a party."
▽Fumayama, chairman of the House of Councilors of the Democratic Party of Japan, said of the kickbacks from the Abe faction, ``I can hear some people saying that they recognized that there was no need to record the income of political organizations. If the money was received in recognition, it should be considered that it was received by an individual, and should not be subject to income tax."
In response, Prime Minister Kishida said, ``As for whether it was political groups or individuals who received the money in the series of incidents, at least those indicted this time were all from policy groups, not individual members, but members of the members' side and political parties.'' We understand that the donation has been certified as a donation to an organization."
Regarding donations from companies and organizations, Chairman Yamazoe of the Communist Party of Japan said, ``Many companies and organizations are the ones who can buy a lot of party tickets. Donations from companies and organizations, including party tickets, should be completely prohibited, and the root cause of financial corruption should be eliminated.'' "We should cut it off," he said.
In response, Prime Minister Kishida said, ``After many years of debate, donations from companies and organizations are only permitted to political parties or political funding groups, but with the Supreme Court ruling in 1971, companies are also prohibited from making political donations. "Freedom is recognized. I do not think it is inappropriate for a political party to accept such payments."
Regarding disaster response such as the Noto Peninsula Earthquake, Reiwa Shinsengumi representative Yamamoto said, ``There are still many victims of natural disasters that occurred under the Kishida administration who have not been able to rebuild their lives. "If the government does not commit to covering most of the costs, the community will be destroyed."
In response, Prime Minister Kishida said, ``In response to the Noto Peninsula Earthquake, we are considering additional measures in consideration of the unique circumstances of this disaster.We recently prepared a package of support, but we have prepared individual measures and integrated them. We will move forward with efforts to provide support to disaster victims."
Mr. Kumagai, Ritsumeikan, demands the summons of nine witnesses, including former Education Minister Shioya
In the intensive deliberations of the House of Councilors Budget Committee, Hiroto Kumagai of the Constitutional Democratic Party, former Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Shioya, who is the chairman of the Abe faction, Takagi, the former head of the National Diet Measures Committee who is also the secretary general, and former secretary general Nikai of the Nikai faction, made a total of nine meetings. He asked for witnesses to be subpoenaed.
He also requested that former House of Councilors Secretary-General Seko, an Abe faction, be invited to the committee as a witness, and said, ``If it is not sufficient after that, I would like to request that he be subpoenaed as a witness.''