Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People, said on October 10 that this Diet session should debate the "politics and money" issue that grew out of the Liberal Democratic Party faction slush-fund scandal, as well as electoral reform.
Speaking at a news conference, Tamaki called for tighter rules on donations from companies and organizations. He also proposed a third-party body to audit political funds.
The slush-fund scandal — undeclared money that flowed through LDP factions' fundraising events — has shadowed the ruling party for months. Tamaki is now attaching it to a bill the LDP needs to pass.
Proportional seat cut on the table
Tamaki pointed to the electoral reform bill that the LDP, Nippon Ishin no Kai and his own party plan to submit jointly within the week. The bill includes a cut to the number of proportional representation seats in the House of Representatives.
He said he had no intention of slowing deliberations or blocking passage of the bill in the current session, Kyodo News reported.
By pairing the two, Tamaki puts the governing coalition's hunger for the seat cut against its reluctance to reopen the donations debate. The bill needs opposition votes to clear the Diet on schedule.
Watchdog and donation limits
The third-party body Tamaki proposed would monitor how political funds are reported and spent. Stricter limits on corporate and group donations would tighten a channel that reformers have long targeted.
The LDP has moved to contain the fallout from the scandal on its own terms. On October 10, the party issued reprimands to four members, including former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, over their abstention on a consumption tax cut bill.