Japan: Former LDP faction accountant sentenced for political fund misreporting

Tokyo, Sep 10 (IANS) A former accountant of a faction within Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Tuesday received a two-year prison sentence, suspended for five years, for underreporting income from fundraising events.

Hitoshi Nagai, 70, was responsible for accounting in the faction previously led by Toshihiro Nikai, a former LDP secretary-general. The Tokyo District Court issued the verdict on Tuesday, following Nagai’s admission of guilt during his initial hearing in June, reports Xinhua news agency.

According to the indictment, Nagai failed to report about 380 million yen (US$2.7 million) in income and expenditures over five years up to 2022.

Despite his actions, Nagai’s defence argued that he was not motivated by personal gain, which contributed to the court’s decision to suspend the sentence.

At the end of last year, the LDP’s slush fund scandal unfolded, and five major factions, including Nikai’s, were suspected of paying kickbacks to member lawmakers who sold fundraising party tickets above their quota without recording the amount as revenue in its political fund reports.

Local media reports showed that prosecutors earlier this year indicted 11 individuals, including accountants and lawmakers, on suspicion of failing to report political funds.

–IANS

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