Agriculture Minister Takibe Shinji said on Friday that prizes handed out at his political fundraising parties did not violate the Public Offices Election Act, after a weekly magazine reported that some gifts may have been worth more than the admission fee. Speaking after a cabinet meeting, Takibe said he had been told that prizes bought with the fee were "prepared strictly within the scope of the fee."
Shukan Bunshun reported on its website on Wednesday that a party held in October 2018 at a hotel in Kitami, Hokkaido, offered prizes including bicycles and suitcases, some of which may have exceeded the ¥2,000 admission fee. The Public Offices Election Act — which governs campaign conduct and spending — treats gifts of value beyond what a guest paid as a donation, which is restricted in political fundraising.
The report also cited an associate saying that at a new year gathering held every February or March, "lavish seafood has sometimes been given out as prizes."
Takibe said the parties included raffles, with everyday goods bought within the fee budget used as prizes. For higher-value items, he said, "things brought in by local people were also used as prizes." Those gifts were not donated to the organizer, he said, but sent directly by the people who provided them to the winners, according to a report he had received. "I understand this does not contravene the Public Offices Election Act," he said.
Donations during election periods
Takibe also addressed a Shukan Bunshun report that four construction companies donated a total of ¥850,000 to him during the 2014 and 2021 lower house election periods while holding orders for national public works projects. He said he would return the money. "The donations were given for ordinary political activity, but because they were received during election periods, I will return them so as not to raise public doubts about politics," he said, adding that he was checking other political fund reports as well.