Political funding issue: Four opposition parties agree to subpoena six witnesses, including Abe faction leaders

Regarding the issue surrounding the political funding party of a faction of the Liberal Democratic Party, four opposition parties, including the Constitutional Democratic Party, said that the House of Representatives Political Ethics Review Committee meeting held until the 18th did not lead to clarifying the actual situation, and six people, including senior members of the Abe faction, were removed from the budget committee. They agreed to request that witnesses be subpoenaed at the meeting.

Regarding this issue, the House of Representatives Political Ethics Review Committee has so far provided explanations by a total of seven people, including Prime Minister Kishida and former secretary generals of the Abe and Nikai factions, including former Political Affairs Research Chairman Shimomura, who attended on the 18th. A question and answer session was held.

In response to this, the heads of the parliamentary committees of the four opposition parties, the Constitutional Democratic Party, the Japan Restoration Party, the Japanese Communist Party, and the Democratic Party of the People, met in the Diet.

At the review committee held until the 18th, it was agreed that an explanation that would satisfy the public had not been given and that it had not led to clarifying the actual situation, and that six people, including Abe's pro-Abe executives, should be subpoenaed as witnesses at the Budget Committee. Did.

The six people requesting that witnesses be subpoenaed include former Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Shioya, Mr. Shimomura, former Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno, former Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Nishimura, and former head of the Diet Committee on Countermeasures Takagi, who have been charged with making false statements in violation of the Political Funds Control Act. Yoshitaka Ikeda, a member of the House of Representatives, was expelled from the Liberal Democratic Party.

At the meeting, it was agreed that the remaining 45 members of the House of Representatives from the Abe and Nikai factions, who had not given explanations at the Political Ethics Committee, would also be required to attend, making it clear that the opposition parties were not the only members needed to petition for a committee to be held. Since there is one person missing, he confirmed that he will call on the ruling party to cooperate.

After this, the Constitutional Democratic Party's Diet Policy Committee Chairman Anju proposed this to the Komeito Party's Diet Policy Committee Chairman Sato.