Political Ethics Commission's explanation criticizes the opposition party for not ``revealing the truth'' and plans to continue pursuing

On the 1st, the House of Representatives Political Ethics Review Committee, which was in response to the issue surrounding the political funding party of a faction of the Liberal Democratic Party, held an explanation and a question-and-answer session from four former secretary generals of the Abe faction, none of whom were involved in the accounting process. I explained that.

Opposition parties have criticized the matter, saying it did not lead to clarifying the actual situation, and are planning to continue calling for relevant members to be invited as witnesses.

On the 1st, the House of Representatives Political Ethics Committee was attended by former Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Nishimura, who served as the secretary general of the Abe faction, former Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno, former Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Shioya, and former head of the Diet Committee on Countermeasures Takagi, who each gave their own explanations. Questions were asked by each party.

All four apologized for causing the public's distrust in politics, and also explained that they had not been involved in accounting procedures related to factional parties.

Additionally, all four members explained that they were not aware of the detailed circumstances surrounding the kickbacks of party income to their affiliated members.

Furthermore, it was explained that the kickbacks, which had been suspended when former Prime Minister Abe became chairman, were continued after Abe's death, in response to a request from the members of his party. However, it was not clear how the decision was made.

While the ruling party believes that it has fulfilled a certain level of accountability by holding the review committee in a completely public manner, it has also criticized harsh criticism, such as, ``The fact that we didn't know about it was itself a problem.''

In response, the opposition party criticized that it did not lead to clarifying the actual situation, with former Constitutional Democratic Party Representative Edano, who took the stand for questioning, saying, ``The answer was the opposite of sincerity.'' We are planning to pursue the matter further by requesting an invitation and subpoenaing witnesses.

Discussions between the ruling and opposition parties will continue, including the revision of the Political Funds Control Act to prevent a recurrence.