Japan Parties Widely Divided over Corporate Donations
Tokyo, Dec. 12 (Jiji Press)--Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party and opposition parties were widely divided Thursday over whether to ban donations from companies and organizations to political parties, a key issue in revising the political funds control law again.
The Political Reform Special Committee at the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, the country's parliament, started substantial deliberations on a total of nine bills to revise the law that have been submitted by parties.
At this point, there is no prospect of any bill securing a majority. At issue is whether parties can compromise with each other and reach an agreement.
On corporate and group donations, Ken Saito of the LDP emphasized their significance by recounting his experience of being supported by local companies when he lost an election.
Hiroshi Ogushi of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan claimed that "trust in politics has been greatly damaged due to a high-profile slush fund scandal at the LDP."
"Such donations should be banned as a big first step to restore trust in politics," he added.
Taku Ikeshita of opposition Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party) pointed out that corporations, by their commercial nature, do not donate to political parties without expecting something in return.
"Donations from companies and organizations are essentially bribes to buy politics," Tetsuya Shiokawa of the Japanese Communist Party insisted.
A bill jointly submitted by the CDP and other opposition parties to ban political donations from companies and organizations excludes political organizations from the ban.
Shinjiro Koizumi of the LDP remarked that the exclusion could be a loophole. Ogushi dismissed Koizumi's claim.
Participants also discussed the LDP's bill envisioning the creation of a system that allows political parties to keep secret details of certain payments at the request of recipients. The LDP's Saito explained that such an arrangement is necessary to protect privacy.
Ogushi criticized the LDP's bill, saying that privacy issues have never constrained political activities.
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