Japan's Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office on Tuesday (December 19) raided the headquarters of a powerful faction of the ruling party that was deeply involved in the "black gold" scandal.
Citing NHK, prosecutors suspect that the faction once led by the late former Prime Minister Shinzo had made false declarations in political donations, and the amount of undeclared donations in the past five years may be as much as 500 million yen (about S$4.67 million).
According to Kyodo News, the Special Investigation Department of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office searched the office of the ** faction located in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo on the same day.
The raids were widely reported by Japan, and reporters were sent to the two locations to wait. The TV station also showed a person in a dark suit entering a building on Tuesday.
*Faction office is unanswered**. Tokyo prosecutors declined to comment on the report.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's approval ratings have further declined due to the "black gold" scandal, and he has not seen any improvement after his cabinet reshuffle, and nearly half of the people even hope that he will resign as soon as possible.
According to the results of a poll released by the Mainichi Shimbun on December 17, the approval rating of the cabinet led by Fumio Kishida fell by five percentage points to 16% compared to November, the lowest since he became prime ministerThe disapproval rate rose five percentage points to 79 percent, the highest level since the Mainichi Shimbun began conducting the survey in July 1947.