Overview
- Fumitake Fujita rejected calls to resign at a Diet news conference, insisting the outsourced work was real and the payments were appropriate.
- Hirofumi Yoshimura said he found no legal violation based on Fujita’s explanation and ruled out removing him from his co-leader post.
- The party will tighten internal rules, including a ban on directing public funds to companies run by lawmakers or their secretaries.
- Reports say the payments totaled more than ¥20 million to a company represented by Fujita’s public first secretary.
- Yoshimura noted the difficulty of externally proving price appropriateness for public contracts as opposition parties signal continued scrutiny.