LDP says it will abolish policy activity funds in the future

Hiroshi Moriyama, secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, is interviewed at the party’s headquarters in Tokyo on Monday.
| Jiji

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party will move to abolish policy activity allowances that political parties pay their member lawmakers, Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama said Monday.

“There is no doubt about moving toward abolishing the allowances,” Moriyama said in an interview.

The LDP’s campaign platform for the Oct. 27 election of the House of Representatives says that the party will “consider abolishing the allowance system in the future.”

As an immediate measure to address criticism of the system for its lack of transparency, Moriyama emphasized the importance of ensuring that such allowances are not used for purposes the general public would not understand.

The LDP’s response to the slush fund scandal at party factions and the creation of a new Japan through drastic regional revitalization measures would be key election issues, Moriyama said.

“We’ve taken some measures to take responsibility” for the scandal, Moriyama said, referring to the LDP’s decision not to endorse some party lawmakers involved in the scandal as its official candidates in the upcoming election. “It’s now up to the public to make a judgment.”

“Criticism from people is very harsh. The focus is whether we can get them to understand that the LDP is changing,” he continued.

Regarding Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s vision of creating a new Japan through regional revitalization, Moriyama said, “How to achieve balanced development of cities is a big task.”

On the Lower House election, Moriyama said that the announced target of securing a majority of at least 233 seats together with Komeito, the LDP’s coalition partner, is a minimum goal.