No. 1359 Bill to Revise Political Fund Control Act
A bill to revise the current Political Fund Control Act passed the House of Representatives and now it is put on debates in the House of Councilors. It was presented by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) after the coalition partner, the Komeito, and one more party, the Ishin (=the Renovation Party) jointly arranged. But it has many loopholes, leaving the existing mechanism intact, allowing plutocracy. The government tries to close the scandal. Don’t let the administration to shut down the off-the-book money disgrace.
DON’T LET GOVERNMENT CLOSE SLUSH FUND SCANDAL!
The above-mentioned bill is debated in the Upper House following the Lower House’s approval, but any right account is presented to the questions raised by the opposition bloc. Many of the outstanding issues are put on the shelf for future discussions. The ruling bloc of the LDP and the Komeito as well as the Ishin is reluctant to disclose truths, disregarding people’s indignation and maintaining an arrogant stance.
Ruling bloc legitimizes the status quo
The bill well preserves the fraudulent structural practices over money which have caused people’s distrust in politics; tax evasions on slush funds, sales of rip-off party tickets and off-the-book expenses in political activities on one hand, and, on the other, reception of grants to political parties. The parliament debates have not produced clearances that people had demanded, but legitimized the misconducts.
The issue of politics and money had emerged from late 1980s and to early 1990s, and it was settled in 1994 through the revision of the Political Fund Control Act and the enactment of the Political Party Subsidy Act. But the former had a fatal defect, which has led to the deeds today.
The LDP, the government party for long time, has two resource channels; donations from companies and affiliated entities on one hand and, on the other, tax money through the Political Party Subsidy Act. It has gained an overwhelming majority in the number of parliamentary seats by using its powerful financial ability, helped by the small-constituency election system.
The LDP, thanks to these significant conditions, has engaged in autocratic political maneuvers; it has talked black into white and made unilateral decisions in the Cabinet without debates in the Diet. Big businesses and the financial circle, who can afford to make enough contributions, have enforced administrations to recede from social benefit spending, de-regulate employment conditions and cut wages. Thus, the working population has fallen into poverty. The financial sector has been kept benefitted from their desired economic and tax policies by purchasing politics with money.
Therefore, many people expected the ‘reform’ on political funds, seeing it as a touchstone whether politics may be changed. They hoped the roots of dissatisfactions may be eradicated as wealth lies in the bloc of big businesses and rich people, meanwhile more people become poor.
The outcome of parliamentary debates, however, has disappointed people; it has ended in a way how to sum up purchases of party tickets on the book. The bill was supported by the Komeito with involvement of the Ishin.
Consequently, the concept was overlooked: prohibition is absent of donations from companies and affiliated associations as well as purchases of party tickets by these entities.
Disclosure of financial report – after ten-year lapse
As for a collective responsibility system, the bill specifies that MP himself/herself shall issue a confirmation letter to the revenue and expenditure report on political fund, providing that lawmakers shall be deprived of the civil right if such a report does not state correctly. But a problem remains whether the article is well observed.
As for a political activities fund, the bill does not abolish it at all, saying that receipts shall be disclosed after a ten-year lapse, just obliging political parties to report certain spendings from an item to item. Even if problems are found ten years later, the period of prescription runs out for official litigation. That is dodge.
In the Upper House the Communist Party has presented an alternative bill. We expect sincere debates without sparing time, but voters must remove the current government, if that is not successful.
自民提出、公、維と共同修正した政治資金規正法改定案が衆院通過、参議院で審議入りした。抜け穴だらけ・政治をカネで買う仕組みを温存した法案で裏金事件の幕引きをさせてはならない。
衆院を通過し参院で審議入りした政治資金規正法改定案は野党要求にゼロ回答、多くの課題はこれから検討と先送りにされた。自公や、維新は裏金疑惑の解明どころか、国民の怒りの声を無視して恥じないと言わざるを得ない。
現状温存と合法化
法案は、政治不信を高めた裏金脱税、ぼったくり（政治資金）パーティ、政党交付金との二重取り、裏金化する政策活動費、これらでいっさい国民の望む解決策は示さず、現状の温存と合法化だ。
80年代末から90年代初頭の「政治とカネ」の問題は、94年の政治資金規正法改定と政党助成法の制定で解決を期した。しかし、規正法の真ん中に大穴が空いており、今日の事態を招いた。
権力政党の自民党は企業・団体献金と税による政党交付金という２つの資金源を手にし、豊富な資金力と小選挙区制による国会での圧倒的多数を手に入れた。
自民党はその力を背景に、黒を白と強弁し、国会に諮らずに閣議決定でもの事を進める独断政治を進めた。高額献金できる大企業や財界は、社会保障の後退や雇用の不安定、低賃金に苦しむ国民を尻目に、自らの望む経済政策や税制をカネで買うがごとくふるまい続けてきた。
したがって、政治不信の根を断つことと、大企業や富裕層に富の一極集中と他方に貧困層が増大する政治を変えられるかどうかが問われ、今回の「改革」がその試金石となることが期待されたはず。
しかし、その結果は自民党に助け舟を出す公明、維新が絡むことによって、政治資金パーティ券購入の開示基準の議論にすり替えられた。その結果、企業団体献金やパーティ券の企業・団体購入の禁止は無視された。
10年後の開示では
連座制も収支報告書の確認書交付を国会議員本人が行うとし、不記載が発覚すれば公民権停止につながるが、実効性の担保は怪しい。
政策活動費は廃止どころか、一定の使途を項目ごとに報告するというが、領収書は10年後公開だ。10年後に問題となっても公訴時効を過ぎてしまうというザル法ぶりだ。
参院では共産党が法案を提出している。時間を惜しまない法案審査に期待するが、だめなら国民が政権にトドメだ。
英訳版↓
No. 1359 Bill to Revise Political Fund Control Act
A bill to revise the current Political Fund Control Act passed the House of Representatives and now it is put on debates in the House of Councilors. It was presented by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) after the coalition partner, the Komeito, and one more party, the Ishin (=the Renovation Party) jointly arranged. But it has many loopholes, leaving the existing mechanism intact, allowing plutocracy. The government tries to close the scandal. Don’t let the administration to shut down the off-the-book money disgrace.
DON’T LET GOVERNMENT CLOSE SLUSH FUND SCANDAL!
The above-mentioned bill is debated in the Upper House following the Lower House’s approval, but any right account is presented to the questions raised by the opposition bloc. Many of the outstanding issues are put on the shelf for future discussions. The ruling bloc of the LDP and the Komeito as well as the Ishin is reluctant to disclose truths, disregarding people’s indignation and maintaining an arrogant stance.
Ruling bloc legitimizes the status quo
The bill well preserves the fraudulent structural practices over money which have caused people’s distrust in politics; tax evasions on slush funds, sales of rip-off party tickets and off-the-book expenses in political activities on one hand, and, on the other, reception of grants to political parties. The parliament debates have not produced clearances that people had demanded, but legitimized the misconducts.
The issue of politics and money had emerged from late 1980s and to early 1990s, and it was settled in 1994 through the revision of the Political Fund Control Act and the enactment of the Political Party Subsidy Act. But the former had a fatal defect, which has led to the deeds today.
The LDP, the government party for long time, has two resource channels; donations from companies and affiliated entities on one hand and, on the other, tax money through the Political Party Subsidy Act. It has gained an overwhelming majority in the number of parliamentary seats by using its powerful financial ability, helped by the small-constituency election system.
The LDP, thanks to these significant conditions, has engaged in autocratic political maneuvers; it has talked black into white and made unilateral decisions in the Cabinet without debates in the Diet. Big businesses and the financial circle, who can afford to make enough contributions, have enforced administrations to recede from social benefit spending, de-regulate employment conditions and cut wages. Thus, the working population has fallen into poverty. The financial sector has been kept benefitted from their desired economic and tax policies by purchasing politics with money.
Therefore, many people expected the ‘reform’ on political funds, seeing it as a touchstone whether politics may be changed. They hoped the roots of dissatisfactions may be eradicated as wealth lies in the bloc of big businesses and rich people, meanwhile more people become poor.
The outcome of parliamentary debates, however, has disappointed people; it has ended in a way how to sum up purchases of party tickets on the book. The bill was supported by the Komeito with involvement of the Ishin.
Consequently, the concept was overlooked: prohibition is absent of donations from companies and affiliated associations as well as purchases of party tickets by these entities.
Disclosure of financial report – after ten-year lapse
As for a collective responsibility system, the bill specifies that MP himself/herself shall issue a confirmation letter to the revenue and expenditure report on political fund, providing that lawmakers shall be deprived of the civil right if such a report does not state correctly. But a problem remains whether the article is well observed.
As for a political activities fund, the bill does not abolish it at all, saying that receipts shall be disclosed after a ten-year lapse, just obliging political parties to report certain spendings from an item to item. Even if problems are found ten years later, the period of prescription runs out for official litigation. That is dodge.
In the Upper House the Communist Party has presented an alternative bill. We expect sincere debates without sparing time, but voters must remove the current government, if that is not successful.
June 19, 2024