Japan’s State Minister of Defense Distributes Antarctic Ice in Constituency, Draws Criticism over Election Law

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:51 JST, July 31, 2024

State Minister of Defense Makoto Oniki distributed pieces of an Antarctic ice chunk harvested by a Maritime Defense Force vessel to people in his constituency in July, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.

Oniki is a Liberal Democratic Party’s House of Representatives member elected from Fukuoka Constituency No. 2 and second rank deputy to the defense minister. The pieces he gave away were collected by the MSDF’s icebreaker Shirase.

Political experts said the act may constitute a violation of the Public Offices Election Law, which prohibits lawmakers from making donations in their constituencies.

Oniki’s side said the purpose was to educate people on the valuable activities of the SDF.

According to his office, Oniki and his secretary broke up the ice, put the pieces into paper cups and gave them away to children and their guardians in a citizens hall in Fukuoka on July 21. The hall is located in the constituency in which Oniki was elected.

The ice chunk was distributed by the Defense Ministry, his office said.

“The act was socially meaningful in that it helped people to learn about the SDF’s activities and for children to become interested in geography and environmental affairs. We think it did not constitute a violation of the election law,” an office official said.

Tomoaki Iwai, a professor emeritus of political studies at Nihon University, said: “[Oniki] gave away something costly and valuable to many, unspecified people in the electoral constituency. In strictly interpreting the law, it is possible the act constituted a violation of election law. As he cannot avoid being seen to have politically made use of his status as a state minister of defense, he should have refrained from such an act.”