According to the Japan Broadcasting Association (NHK), on the 19th, Japan's Tokyo District Prosecutor's Special Search Department conducted a forced search of the offices of the ** faction of the Liberal Democratic Party (Seiwa Policy Research Association) and the Second Order Faction (Zhishuai Association) on the grounds of violating laws and regulations related to political funds.
Screenshot of NHK report.
According to the report, as of 2022, about 500 million yen (about 25 million yuan) of the ** faction and about 100 million yen (about 5 million yuan) of the second-order faction have not been accounted for.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that he would respond decisively based on the results of the search.
*The faction, officially known as the "Qinghe Policy Research Society", was previously led by former Prime Minister Shinzo; The second-order faction was called the "Shishuaikai" and was led by the former secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party, Toshihiro Nikai. Japanese media recently revealed that the faction issued sales targets to its members, requiring them to enter the political fundraising rally at a price of 20,000 yen each. If the sales target is exceeded, the extra funds will have the opportunity to be returned to the councillors as their additional income.
*The faction and the second-order faction were revealed to have failed to record the above income and expenditure in accordance with the relevant regulations, and the cumulative total amount of the secret funds may reach hundreds of millions of yen. Affected by the "kickback" turmoil, many members of the Kishida cabinet have been removed a few days ago. （*