JAPAN TODAY


 

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi received over 60 million yen in donations from a local chapter of the Liberal Democratic Party she heads, with the money used for election campaigns, Kyodo News has learned.

The finding may conflict with her explanation at a parliamentary session on Dec 12, when she said that donations made to the LDP chapter in her home prefecture of Nara in western Japan are not personal donations for herself, and that she "happened to be the chapter head."

Takaichi received a total of 64.74 million yen from the chapter, established in 2005, for the seven House of Representatives races she has run in since that year, according to political funds reports. The figure accounted for more than 80 percent of her campaign funds.

She used about 5 million yen to 12.7 million yen for each lower house race, with three of the seven elections completely funded by donations from the chapter, according to reports related to her campaigns.

Takaichi became Japan's first female prime minister in October.
Takaichi's personal office says on its official website that it welcomes donations from "firms and organizations that resonate with Sanae Takaichi's policies."

Donations from party chapters to individuals who run for elections are lawful, and many ruling and opposition lawmakers put the money toward their campaign funds.

Takaichi made the remarks in the Diet after the chapter said in early December that it had received 10 million yen in donations from a company in August 2024, above the 7.5-million-yen cap stipulated in the political funds control law for a donor of that size.

Her office told Kyodo News that political activities by a party chapter and a lawmaker are treated differently under the political funds control law, and as such it is clear that the chapter and the lawmaker are "separate entities."