TOKYO, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- Japan's education minister Yoshihiro Seki admitted at a press conference on Tuesday that a ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) branch he heads had held political fundraising events within parliamentary office facilities in breach of the rules, and he apologized for the violations, local media reported.
The move came after Japanese newspaper Shimbun Akahata recently reported that the LDP's Hyogo 3rd electoral district branch, headed by Seki, had held political fundraising parties inside the members' office building of the House of Representatives in 2020 and 2024.
The lower house prohibits unapproved commercial activities and fundraising parties within the building complex under its internal regulations.
After reviewing the branch's political funds reports, Shimbun Akahata found that Seki's branch had held a fundraising event in the office building in December 2020, generating 2.44 million yen (around 15,400 U.S. dollars) in revenue, while expenses, including venue setup costs, totaled only about 46,000 yen.
In June 2024, the branch held a similar event in Seki's own office in the building, bringing in 810,000 yen while spending only about 82,000 yen on food, drinks and other items.
The newspaper noted that Diet members can use meeting rooms in the office buildings free of charge, which significantly reduces the cost of holding such events.
Hiroshi Kamiwaki, a professor at Japan's Kobe Gakuin University, said political fundraising parties are "effectively equivalent to political donations."
He noted that the disclosure threshold for buyers of political fundraising party tickets is higher than that for direct political donations, making it easier for ticket buyers to conceal their identities. "This is an egregious fundraising practice that exploits loopholes in the system," he said.
At the press conference on Tuesday, Seki said he had previously "not been sufficiently familiar with the relevant rules."
Seki joined the cabinet for the first time last month, when Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reshuffled her cabinet, taking the post of minister of education, culture, sports, science and technology. He had previously been disciplined by the LDP over a high-profile political slush fund scandal, and his appointment made him one of the first disciplined lawmakers to enter the cabinet since the scandal came to light in late 2023. ■