Prime Minister Kishida has announced that he intends to take action against the members of the Liberal Democratic Party by the end of next week regarding the political funding party of a faction of the Liberal Democratic Party. Regarding the nature of the punishment, he expressed his intention to make a strict decision by comprehensively taking into account factors such as the undisclosed amount and how accountability should be fulfilled.
Prime Minister Kishida held a press conference at the Prime Minister's Office on the evening of the 28th, following the passage of the new fiscal year budget.
In this regard, Prime Minister Kishida stated, regarding the punishment of the relevant members of the Liberal Democratic Party after the issue regarding the political funding party of a faction of the Liberal Democratic Party, ``Currently, the Liberal Democratic Party executive department is interviewing additional parties involved.If necessary, "We are considering holding further hearings. We hope to move forward with the process so that we can take action within the next week."
As for the specific form of punishment, ``When making a decision, we will consider the amount and extent of the omissions in the political funds balance report, each politician's position and parliamentary history, and the restoration of trust, including how accountability is fulfilled.'' "We will make a comprehensive judgment on the status of efforts toward this goal. After that, we will take strict action through procedures such as the Party Disciplinary Committee."
When asked if Mori, the former Prime Minister, would be included in additional hearings in the future, he said, ``We have been conducting interviews without making clear who we will be targeting or who we will be calling from now on.'' "We will consider conducting interviews if necessary to determine political responsibility."
On the other hand, he acknowledged that the three by-elections for the House of Representatives to be held next month will be contested with very strong opinions from the public against the backdrop of issues surrounding politics and money, and he also stated that the line of victory and defeat is "right now. We are currently considering candidates in each of the two constituencies, so it is difficult to say whether there will be a winner or a loser at this stage.''
When asked, ``Are there any plans to dissolve the House of Representatives before the by-election?'' he answered, ``We will continue to focus on tackling issues that cannot be postponed, such as restoring trust in politics, revitalizing the economy, and raising wages.'' I'm not thinking about anything else right now."