In response to issues surrounding factional political funding parties, the Liberal Democratic Party has released the results of interviews with relevant members of the Abe and Nikai factions. The total amount of refunds to members of Congress is expected to amount to 579.49 million yen over the five years up to the year 2020.
In response to this issue, the Liberal Democratic Party first conducted interviews with 82 current members of the Diet, including members of the Abe and Nikai factions, and 91 executives from eight factions and parliamentary groups. On the 15th, we compiled the results into a report, presented it to the opposition parties, and made it public.
According to the plan, a total of 85 members, including 82 current members of the Abe and Nikai factions and three branch leaders who are scheduled to run in the next House of Representatives election, will be given the option to return their faction's party ticket income to the members. The refund has been confirmed.
Refund systems are divided into two types: the ``refund method,'' in which the excess amount over the quota is returned to the members of the Diet, and the ``reservation method,'' in which only the quota amount is delivered to the faction and the excess amount is retained by the legislators.
▽Refund method 53 people
used the reservation method, 16
people used both the refund method and the reservation method.
The total amount of refunds to the 85 members of the Diet is expected to amount to 579.49 million yen over the five years up to the year 2020.
Of the 85 people, 32 were aware that there would be a refund, and 11 of them were aware that it was not included in the income and expenditure report.
The reason for this is said to have been explained by the lawmaker in an interview, saying, ``I believed what I was told by the faction secretariat that there was no need to report income and expenditure.''
Regarding whether or not they used the refund,
53 people used it,
31 people did not use it, and 1
person said that their lawmaker or secretary was not aware that they had received a refund.
On the other hand, in the report, Abe's faction states that it is unclear when these refunds began, but it is highly likely that they have been going on for at least a dozen years, and in some cases more than 20 years ago. It is clearly stated that this can be seen.
Furthermore, during the hearing, many members of the Abe faction were asked to hold the leaders of the faction responsible, saying, ``I think the people who are at the top of the faction must take responsibility.''
The report concludes with the recommendations of the lawyer who compiled it, stating that it is strongly desired that the law be amended to prevent this from happening again.