Reference News Network December 4 report: According to Japan's "Shukan Bunshun" website December 3 report, in the political party branch headed by Japanese Minister of Finance Hironobu Katayama, more than 500,000 yen (about 3,219 U.S. dollars) in funds were not recorded in the political fund expenditure and income report.
According to the report, in cases where the Liberal Democratic Party's various political party branches and related organizations provided donations to Katayama's political party branch or received donations from Katayama's side, it was common for Katayama's side to fail to record the relevant expenditures or income.
A typical example includes 100,000 yen received by Katayama's party in 2022 from the "Shizuoka Prefectural Transportation Policy Council," and another 100,000 yen received that same year from the "Tokyo Shoko Research Association," both of which were not included in the expenditure and income report. The total amount of unrecorded funds is at least 570,000 yen.
The report said, "Is the accounting work under Katayama's nose too chaotic?" According to Professor Hiroshi Uwasa, a professor at Kobe Gakuin University who is familiar with political fund issues, "This seriously deviates from the purpose of the Political Funds Control Act to ensure transparency, and there is a high possibility of illegal activity. Especially the omission of income may become 'off-the-books funds.' We must say that Katayama has a very careless understanding of political funds, and his qualifications as Minister of Finance are questionable."
Katayama's office responded in writing: "Regarding the issues you pointed out, we will handle them properly." (Translated by Ma Xiaoyun)
Original article: toutiao.com/article/7579966300227682825/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.