Political funding issue: Liberal Democratic Party begins questioning related members; opposition party seeks responsibility

In response to the issue of factional political funding parties, the Liberal Democratic Party has decided that starting on the 2nd, party executives will begin interviewing members of the Abe faction and other related parties about the amount of kickbacks they receive and how they are used. Opposition parties, including the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, plan to continue holding Prime Minister Kishida and others accountable in the Diet.

The Abe faction of the Liberal Democratic Party, which decided to disband in response to this issue, held its final general meeting of members on the 1st, and the faction, which was founded by former Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda and has a history of more than 40 years, has announced that it will remain active. I finished.

In the Liberal Democratic Party, four of the six factions, including the Abe faction, have decided to disband, and Prime Minister Kishida said, ``It is up to each individual to decide whether or not to disband a faction, but even if they are disbanded, the accountability of those involved will not be removed.'' No,” he said.

Starting on the 2nd, the Liberal Democratic Party's General Affairs Chairman Moriyama and other senior party officials will begin interviewing relevant members of the Abe and Nikai factions to ascertain the amount of kickbacks they received from the factions and how they were used.

The hope is to understand the background behind the problem, which will lead to the ``Political Reform Headquarters'' considering measures to prevent it from happening again and discussing party reform.

In response, the Constitutional Democratic Party's Parliamentary Affairs Committee Chairman Azumi pointed out, ``We are paying attention to how Prime Minister Kishida will punish those involved.I think it would be a bad idea to not take political responsibility.''

The opposition party plans to continue to hold Prime Minister Kishida and faction leaders accountable at today's House of Councilors plenary session and at the House of Representatives Budget Committee meeting starting next week.