Ishiba Plans Further Revision of Political Funds Control Law; Lawmakers’ Allowances Also in Spotlight

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:54 JST, November 11, 2024

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba plans to revise the Political Funds Control Law again before the end of this year, it has been learned.

According to multiple sources close to the government and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Ishiba, the party president, wants to establish a third-party organization to monitor political funds within this fiscal year and plans to submit a bill for the revision to an extraordinary Diet session to be convened later this year. Through this, Ishiba aims to demonstrate his leadership and his willingness to implement political reforms, the sources said.

The law had already been revised during the previous ordinary Diet session following the political funds scandal involving LDP factions. The revised law imposes stricter penalties on lawmakers and measures to ensure the transparency of political funds. However, the establishment of a third-party organization was included only as an “item for further discussion” in the supplementary clause of the revised law. Since the DPFP is also calling for the establishment of a third-party organization within this fiscal year, Ishiba intends to strengthen his resolve.

Ishiba has also expressed his desire to abolish policy activity allowances that political parties pay member lawmakers. He also intends to establish a system under which political parties receive less in political party grants from taxpayers’ money if the party member lawmakers violate the Political Funds Control Law or commit other misconduct.

The LDP promised in its campaign platform to abolish policy activity allowances in the future, but Ishiba clearly said that it should be realized as soon as possible during a press conference on Oct. 28, the day after the LDP suffered a major defeat in the House of Representatives election.

Concerning the revision to the Political Funds Control Law, the LDP’s political reform headquarters, chaired by Kisaburo Tokai, the party’s former Policy Research Council chairman, held a meeting of senior members Thursday. At the meeting, it was confirmed that they would aim to revise the law once again during the extraordinary Diet session to be convened later this year.

Ishiba will attend a meeting of the headquarters to be held shortly to confirm future policies.

Ishiba is also in favor of disclosing how an allowance given to lawmakers for research, study, public relations and accommodation is used and having lawmakers return unused funds to the national coffers. He will urge party members to accelerate discussions on the issue.