A recent event in Japan has sparked widespread attention and discussion. The trigger for this event was a small "banquet ticket", which not only revealed the problem of corruption in Japanese politics, but also raised questions about the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. In fact, these "banquet tickets" are not just vouchers used to hold banquets, but more importantly, they become a tool for power struggles between politicians or factions within a political party. Some politicians raise the political money they need by holding banquets under various names and selling these "banquet tickets" to their supporters. And the use and flow of these funds is often ambiguous, giving people a sense of corruption and opacity. Fumio Kishida, as the prime minister of Japan, was also involved in this "banquet ticket" turmoil. In 2022, he reportedly held a total of 8 "political fund banquets" and raised 150 million yen, while the total cost was only 19 million yen, and the profit margin was as high as 87%. Such figures raise questions about how the funds are used and whether there is abuse of power and corruption. The Liberal Democratic Party, as the largest ruling party in Japan, has naturally become the protagonist of this turmoil.
As one of the largest factions in the Liberal Democratic Party, the "** faction" is even more involved. They were accused of being involved in the issue of secret funds, which sparked widespread questioning and discontent. The Cadet Party submitted a cabinet no-confidence motion to the House of Representatives of the Diet demanding the collective resignation of the Kishida cabinet as a response to public concerns about corruption. However, the opposition party's no-confidence motion was eventually rejected, and the Kishida cabinet was given a chance to remain in power. Does this mean that the Kishida cabinet has "landed safely"?The opinion of experts is not entirely unanimous. Although the Kishida cabinet won in the Diet, it does not mean that they can take it lightly. ** There is more and more concern about this turmoil, and the opposition parties will not give up easily. They will continue to hold accountable until the Kishida cabinet is unable to withstand the pressure and is forced to dissolve the parliament to be held**. The problem of corruption in Japanese politics is not something that can be solved overnight. This "banquet ticket" turmoil is just a tipping point, and there are more problems and contradictions hidden behind it. ** and the ruling party need to seriously reflect and introspect, strengthen supervision and management, in order to restore public trust in politics.
Citations: 1"Japanese Politics Revealed: How Politicians Sold a 20,000 Yen Banquet Ticket," Observer.com, December 14, 2022. 2."Opposition Party Proposal on No-Confidence in Japanese Cabinet Fails to Pass," The Paper, December 14, 2022. A shocking scandal recently broke out in Japan, involving some members of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) who illegally obtained political funds and did not keep their accounts legally. These parliamentarians raise money by holding so-called "political funding banquets", but they do not clearly keep accounts and report income and expenditure, as required by law. This kind of behavior not only violates Japan's "Political Funds Regulation Law", but also makes the political funds of these parliamentarians gray income. In this scandal, what is particularly striking is the "** faction", the largest faction in the Liberal Democratic Party, which has been exposed to involve millions of "black gold". Since 2000, this faction has been dominant within the LDP, and has even produced four prime ministers. However, right in the ** of this faction, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroshi Matsuno.
1. Hikaru Hagiuda, chairman of the political polling committee.
1. Minister of Industry and Economy Yasunori Nishimura, Secretary General of the Liberal Democratic Party Hiroshi Seko, and others were exposed to be involved in the issue of obtaining kickbacks without permission.
These people are not only the core figures of the Kishida administration, but also have the potential to become future candidates for prime minister. Of particular concern is Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, who was once the chief of affairs of the "** faction" and a close confidant of the Kishida regime, and was highly valued by Kishida. However, he is suspected of receiving more than 10 million yen in kickbacks in the past 5 years. As Chief Cabinet Secretary, Hirokazu Matsuno is responsible for policy coordination and the dissemination of information. However, at a recent press conference, he barely answered other questions and was asked all the time about the flow of funds. This has greatly affected his image as chief cabinet secretary and has also put the cabinet's information release work in a difficult situation. As a result of this scandal, the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party and others jointly submitted a motion of no confidence in Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno to the Diet. However, in a vote in the House of Representatives, this no-confidence motion was rejected. When the results of the vote were announced, Hirokazu Matsuno showed a "smile of confusion". The result raises questions about whether the Kishida cabinet will be able to regain approval through a reshuffle. The scandal not only concerns individual members of Congress, but also exposes the corruption and opacity of the entire political system.
Political funds should be transparent and legitimate, and should not be used for personal gain. Japan** should strengthen regulation to ensure the legal use of political funds. At the same time, the public should also maintain political attention and supervision, and do not allow corruption to succeed. Citations: 1National Business Daily: Beijing**: Japan's Liberal Democratic Party's recent "banquet ticket" incident has attracted widespread attention across the country, the party's support has fallen to a record low, and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is also facing a very serious challenge. The issue has already taken a toll on his cabinet's approval ratings, leading to a purge of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and a replacement of cabinet and senior members as one of Kishida's current measures.
Recent polls show that 877% of respondents believe that Fumio Kishida is responsible, and in response to this situation, Liu Qingbin believes that the practice of "retiring from politics and changing generals" to "recover some support and survive until the next year" is a response. According to Japanese media reports, Fumio Kishida has decided to change the cabinet and the top level of the Liberal Democratic Party in exchange for the trust and support of the Japanese people. It is expected that the relevant personnel changes will be initiated as early as the end of the extraordinary session on the 13th. However, Liu Qingbin believes that Fumio Kishida's approach will not be able to "get what he wants". On the one hand, the purge would trigger the largest faction of the LDPOn the other hand, each faction has people involved in the "banquet ticket" scandal, and only targeting the "** faction" will also be questioned for "selective law enforcement", and Fumio Kishida will be in a dilemma. In addition, Fumio Kishida has already reshuffled his cabinet in September this year, but the results still do not have the desired effect. Therefore, the Diet ** next year and the LDP presidential election in September next year will be an important test for Fumio Kishida's governing career, "and see if Kishida can survive until then."