Kishida vows to reshape LDP by moving away from faction system

TOKYO (Kyodo) — Prime Minister Fumio Kishida vowed on Tuesday to reshape Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party by moving away from its reliance on factions amid a political funds scandal that has engulfed some of the intraparty groups.

The LDP has come under intense scrutiny over the scandal, with allegations that some of its factions failed to report revenue from fundraising parties over many years.

Speaking after a party reform panel released an interim report, Kishida said he wants to see the LDP “totally break away” from being dominated by factions.

The fundraising scandal has rocked the party and led to a sharp decline in approval ratings for Kishida’s Cabinet.

But the interim report stopped short of proposing the disbandment of factions, instead allowing them to continue as “policy groups.”

The panel proposed introducing a system enabling the party to request a faction to disband or suspend activities if it is found violating the political funds control law.

But Katsuya Okada, secretary general of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, criticized the proposed reforms as being “half-baked,” with the LDP merely putting on a show to dodge a bullet.

As part of efforts to address the issue of money and politics, the LDP should put an end to political fundraising parties, which have come to be associated with slush funds amid the latest money scandal, according to the report.

The LDP is also urged to eliminate what have traditionally been major functions of factions, such as recommending their members for government and party posts, according to the report.

Factions have served mainly to help lawmakers secure campaigning funds and ministerial posts.

The panel also recommended that the party toughen its penalties on lawmakers in the event of arrest or indictment for violating the political funds control law, and politicians face party punishment even if their accountants are arrested or indicted.

On Friday, prosecutors indicted a number of accountants and lawmakers from some LDP factions, including Kishida’s group, on suspicion of violating the law. However, executives of the groups did not face criminal charges due to a lack of evidence, despite mounting criticism surrounding the scandal.

Kishida, who heads the panel, launched it earlier this month to establish rules for enhancing the transparency of funds raised by LDP factions.

The LDP, which has been in power for most of the period since its launch in 1955, is scheduled to formally endorse the report later this week.

Some factions within the LDP, including the largest one formerly headed by the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and a group that Kishida led until December, have decided to dissolve following the scandal.