Posted on Dec 22, 2023
Party bosses fall in Japan's worst political corruption scandal in decades
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https://www.npr.org/2023/12/22/ [login to see] /japan-alleged-political-corruption-ldp-slush-fund
Japan's governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Friday replaced two of its top executives, as part of a purge related to the worst corruption scandal to rock the country in three decades.
The outgoing executives were in charge of policy and parliamentary affairs. They belonged to an LDP faction — a sort of party within a party — formerly led by the late ex-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Japan's current prime minister, Fumio Kishida, has been sacking party chiefs and Cabinet members to save his administration, as prosecutors investigate allegations that LDP ministers and lawmakers violated political finance laws.
Japan's governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Friday replaced two of its top executives, as part of a purge related to the worst corruption scandal to rock the country in three decades.
The outgoing executives were in charge of policy and parliamentary affairs. They belonged to an LDP faction — a sort of party within a party — formerly led by the late ex-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Japan's current prime minister, Fumio Kishida, has been sacking party chiefs and Cabinet members to save his administration, as prosecutors investigate allegations that LDP ministers and lawmakers violated political finance laws.
Party bosses fall in Japan's worst political corruption scandal in decades
Posted from npr.org
Japan
Corruption
Scandal
Investigation
Finance
Posted 5 mo ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Izumi says that before Abe was assassinated in July 2022, the leader was too powerful for the prosecutors to touch.
"Now it's been about a year and a half since Abe was shot and died," he says. "Just as prosecutors were planning to take their revenge, the slush fund case fell in their lap."
There's no public evidence of the feud Izumi describes. But Izumi believes the result of the scandal will be the end of the Abe faction, and a big shift in power within the LDP.
And that, he adds, may overshadow anything else Prime Minister Kishida achieves.
"He would put an end to Abe's dictatorial politics," Izumi says. "And Abe's faction, which symbolizes those politics, would be destroyed. I think that would be Kishida's legacy as prime minister."
The outcome, though, depends somewhat on the prosecutors. And they are up against the clock.
They can't arrest lawmakers while parliament is in session, so that gives them until the legislature reopens sometime in January to build their cases and go after their targets."
..."Izumi says that before Abe was assassinated in July 2022, the leader was too powerful for the prosecutors to touch.
"Now it's been about a year and a half since Abe was shot and died," he says. "Just as prosecutors were planning to take their revenge, the slush fund case fell in their lap."
There's no public evidence of the feud Izumi describes. But Izumi believes the result of the scandal will be the end of the Abe faction, and a big shift in power within the LDP.
And that, he adds, may overshadow anything else Prime Minister Kishida achieves.
"He would put an end to Abe's dictatorial politics," Izumi says. "And Abe's faction, which symbolizes those politics, would be destroyed. I think that would be Kishida's legacy as prime minister."
The outcome, though, depends somewhat on the prosecutors. And they are up against the clock.
They can't arrest lawmakers while parliament is in session, so that gives them until the legislature reopens sometime in January to build their cases and go after their targets."
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