Japan LDP Will Not Endorse 12 Party Members in Upcoming Lower House Election Due to Political Funds Reports Violations

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:39 JST, October 9, 2024

The Liberal Democratic Party on Wednesday morning decided that it will not endorse 12 members who were involved in a political funds scandal as official candidates in the upcoming House of Representatives election.

The decision came as a meeting of the party’s Election Strategy Headquarters approved first-round official party candidates for the election, which will be held on Oct. 27 with official campaigning starting on Oct. 15.

The 12 members of the party’s factions did not report income on their political funds reports, in violation of the Political Funds Control Law. In addition to six senior members including Koichi Hagiuda, former policy chief of the party, four lawmakers for the House of Representatives – Ichiro Kanke, Kazuyuki Nakane, Kiyoshi Odawara and Kenichi Hosoda – were not endorsed.

Takao Ochi, a lawmaker in the House of Representatives who has already announced that he will not run for reelection, and Hirofumi Imamura, the party’s chairperson for Tokyo Constituency No. 9, were also not given endorsements.

“We made the decision after considering the situation in each constituency,” LDP Secretary General Hiroshi Moriyama told reporters after the meeting.

The LDP will not field rival candidates if they run in the election as independents.

The party endorsed 265 members in single-seat constituencies and 14 in proportional representation segments.

Thirty-two incumbent lawmakers who did not record funds in their political funds reports were endorsed. They include former Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, former Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Ryota Takeda. Two chairpersons for single-seat constituencies were also endorsed. However, the LDP leadership will not allow them to simultaneously run in the proportional representation segments.

Regarding the proportional representation segments, Moriyama said, “We will continue our efforts to further increase our focus on new female candidates.”

At the meeting, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said, “We want to sincerely engage with the voters and conduct the election with integrity.” Ishiba, who is also the LDP president, added, “I will fully dedicate myself to the election to ensure that all members can win.”