Tougher funds law eyed as LDP’s Motegi and Aso look to keep factions

Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi on Sunday urged a strengthening of the political funds control law, suggesting the introduction of a guilt-by-association system amid a fundraising scandal that saw Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announce last week that he would dissolve the LDP faction he once led.

Motegi, speaking on an NHK program, said a system must be put in place to hold lawmakers accountable for the management of political funds.

“It shouldn’t just end with accountants and secretaries,” Motegi said, in apparent reference to a guilt-by-association system that would hold lawmakers responsible for violations of the law committed by their staff.