2 of Japan’s Opposition Parties Submit Bill to Revise Political Funds Control Law, Aim to Strengthen Donation Regulations

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:32 JST, March 3, 2026

The Centrist Reform Alliance and the Democratic Party for the People jointly submitted a bill on Monday to the House of Representatives to revise the Political Funds Control Law, with the aim of strengthening regulations on donations from corporations and organizations.

The pillar of the revision bill is to limit donation recipients to party headquarters and prefectural-level organizations.

This marks the first time the two opposition parties have jointly submitted a bill, aiming to highlight the ruling parties’ reluctance to address issues surrounding “politics and money.”

After submitting the bill, Motohisa Furukawa, acting representative of the DPFP, told reporters, “We aim for its passage as soon as possible and call on other parties to support the bill.”

He added: “The LDP is at the center of the ‘politics and money’ issue. Just because the party won the [recent lower house] election, it must not ignore the issue,” putting pressure on the LDP and its ruling partner, the Japan Innovation Party.

The bill would cap donations from companies and labor unions to a single organization at ¥20 million per year. For donations from political groups other than political parties and political funding organizations, it would establish a new annual cap of ¥100 million, with individual donations to a single group also capped at ¥20 million per year.