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Japan's Ruling LDP Lawmakers Questioned Over Fundraising Scandal

The scandal, involving undeclared fundraising revenue, has already led to a cabinet reshuffle and could further destabilize Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's government.

Overview

  • Prosecutors in Japan have begun questioning lawmakers from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) over allegations of a political fund scandal.
  • The scandal involves the LDP's largest faction and allegations that the group failed to declare hundreds of millions of yen of fundraising party revenue in political funding reports.
  • The scandal has already resulted in the replacement of all four ministers belonging to the LDP's largest faction in Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's government.
  • The accounting manager of the LDP's largest faction is suspected of playing a key role in the scandal, with potential charges being considered for not submitting required income and expenditure reports for the political funds.
  • Several lawmakers, including former chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno and former trade minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, are suspected of failing to report significant income earned from the faction's fundraising events.