Shimomura, the former chairman of the Political Affairs Research Institute who served as the secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party's Abe faction, held a press conference and apologized for causing distrust in politics due to the incident surrounding the faction's political funding party. He also explained that he has no plans to resign or leave the party.
At the beginning of the press conference, Mr. Shimomura apologized, saying, ``I have caused a great deal of distrust and suspicion in the public.I sincerely apologize.''
On top of that, regarding the faction's party ticket income collected in excess of the sales quota, 4.76 million yen was recorded in the income and expenditure report for the five years up to the year 2017, including kickbacks from the faction and the amount not delivered to the faction. I made it clear that I hadn't.
He then stated, ``This has been a customary relationship between the past presidents and the secretariat for many years.I had no involvement even when I was serving as secretary general.''
He also stated, ``I believe that the way to take political responsibility is to be accountable and regain trust,'' and explained that he has no plans to resign as a member or leave the party.
Furthermore, former Prime Minister Abe, who was the chairman of the Ototoshi faction, proposed canceling the controversial operation, but after Mr. Abe's death in July, the operation continued again. "I was the acting chairman, but I never gave any instructions or approval."