Revenue from Political Fundraising Parties in 2024 Drop Over 46% in Wake of Political Funds Scandal

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:20 JST, November 29, 2025

Revenue from fundraising parties held by all political parties fell 46.7% to ¥4.62 billion in f2024 from the previous year, according to the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry, which relesased the details of political funds reports on Friday.

The decline is attributed mainly to a significant drop in the number of fundraising parties in response to a political funds scandal involving Liberal Democratic Party factions.

Total revenue from the fundraising parties in 2024 was the second lowest on record behind 1993, when such revenue began to be regulated under the Political Funds Control Law.

The 2024 total was less than one-third of the 2004 peak of ¥14.3 billion.

Last year also saw a drop in the number of parties that bring in at least ¥10 million, which are defined as “special parties” under the Political Funds Control Law. Over the year, there were 109 fewer such parties, which are mainly held by political organizations represented by lawmakers of both ruling and opposition parties. The total came to 170. Accordingly, their revenue fell by 54.4% year-over-year to ¥2.89 billion.

In 2023, political fundraising parties held by the LDP’s six factions, including one led by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, brought in a combined total of more than ¥1.13 billion. In March 2024, however, the LDP banned its factions from holding parties in the wake of the scandal.

Five of the party’s six factions were dissolved between April 2024 and June 2025, with only one, led by LDP Vice President Taro Aso, surviving.

Total expenses at all parties’ headquarters went up 21.5% from the previous year to about ¥77.96 billion. The rise was due mainly to a year-over-year increase of ¥8.2 billion for election-related costs in preparation for the House of Representatives election in October 2024, bringing the total to ¥8.77 billion.

By party, the LDP had the highest expenses in 2024 at ¥27.08 billion, up 50.4% from the previous year. The Japanese Communist Party was next at ¥19.07 billion, up 0.8%, and Komeito followed at \11.71 billion, down 3%.

Total revenue for all parties’ headquarters was ¥68.71 billion, down 0.4% from the preceding year. By party, the LDP had the highest revenue, at ¥22.12 billion, down 1.9% from 2023.