ID :
165861
Fri, 03/04/2011 - 14:40
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/165861
The shortlink copeid
Maehara admits illegal donation from foreigner in fresh blow to Kan
TOKYO, March 4 Kyodo - Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara said Friday he received a donation from a foreign national in violation of the Japanese law banning such contribution, clouding the outlook for his political future and giving Prime Minister Naoto Kan another headache.
Maehara's admission is expected to provide more ammunition for opposition parties to attack the Kan administration, which is already facing criticism over other money scandals affecting ruling party members, low public support ratings and an intraparty rift.
''I would like to return (the money) and correct my political fund report,'' Maehara told parliament, adding he apologized to the premier and promised to look into the matter to get a full picture of the situation.
Shoji Nishida, a lawmaker of the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party, pressed Maehara during the House of Councillors Budget Committee session about the dubious donation and urged Kan to remove Maehara from his post.
Kan, in response, backed Maehara's stance of first examining the matter and said he will ''wait'' for the outcome.
According to Nishida, Maehara received 200,000 yen over a four-year period from the foreigner in question.
In a news conference, Maehara admitted to receiving 50,000 yen and said he will study the matter before deciding on his next step.
The law bans donations from foreign nationals or firms to prevent Japanese politics from being influenced by foreign powers.
Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda, who was linked to a political fund-related case, told the upper house panel that he had received a total of 800,000 yen in donations from companies with links to a corporate manager who was indicted for tax evasion, adding that he had returned the money.
On top of the money scandal, Kan is under fire over his leadership and purported lack of control of his government and party amid developments such as the recent move by 16 DPJ lawmakers to leave the party's parliamentary group and another lawmaker's attempt to quit the DPJ.
The premier, who is also DPJ president, remained undaunted as he said his party is doing well and renewed his appeal to the opposition bloc to pass the fiscal 2011 budget and related bills needed to completely put the budget in effect.
''I believe that a great majority of the public first wish to see thorough discussions on the budget, and have it enacted and implemented,'' Kan said in the session, renewing his appeal to the opposition camp, which controls the upper house, to ''enact the budget without further delay.''
Friday marked the start of deliberations at the upper house panel on the record 92.42 trillion yen budget for fiscal 2011 starting April.
The House of Representatives, controlled by the ruling coalition, approved the budget Tuesday, paving the way for its enactment by March 31, but the prospect of securing passage of the bills needed to fully implement the budget remains bleak due to objections from the opposition.
The DPJ initially planned to convene the upper house's budget panel session on Thursday, but the schedule was delayed because the ruling and opposition camps disagreed over the format of the debate.
The Constitution states that the annual budget will be enacted within 30 days of being sent to the House of Councillors after securing the approval of the more powerful lower house, even if the upper house rejects it or does not hold a vote on it.
Maehara's admission is expected to provide more ammunition for opposition parties to attack the Kan administration, which is already facing criticism over other money scandals affecting ruling party members, low public support ratings and an intraparty rift.
''I would like to return (the money) and correct my political fund report,'' Maehara told parliament, adding he apologized to the premier and promised to look into the matter to get a full picture of the situation.
Shoji Nishida, a lawmaker of the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party, pressed Maehara during the House of Councillors Budget Committee session about the dubious donation and urged Kan to remove Maehara from his post.
Kan, in response, backed Maehara's stance of first examining the matter and said he will ''wait'' for the outcome.
According to Nishida, Maehara received 200,000 yen over a four-year period from the foreigner in question.
In a news conference, Maehara admitted to receiving 50,000 yen and said he will study the matter before deciding on his next step.
The law bans donations from foreign nationals or firms to prevent Japanese politics from being influenced by foreign powers.
Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda, who was linked to a political fund-related case, told the upper house panel that he had received a total of 800,000 yen in donations from companies with links to a corporate manager who was indicted for tax evasion, adding that he had returned the money.
On top of the money scandal, Kan is under fire over his leadership and purported lack of control of his government and party amid developments such as the recent move by 16 DPJ lawmakers to leave the party's parliamentary group and another lawmaker's attempt to quit the DPJ.
The premier, who is also DPJ president, remained undaunted as he said his party is doing well and renewed his appeal to the opposition bloc to pass the fiscal 2011 budget and related bills needed to completely put the budget in effect.
''I believe that a great majority of the public first wish to see thorough discussions on the budget, and have it enacted and implemented,'' Kan said in the session, renewing his appeal to the opposition camp, which controls the upper house, to ''enact the budget without further delay.''
Friday marked the start of deliberations at the upper house panel on the record 92.42 trillion yen budget for fiscal 2011 starting April.
The House of Representatives, controlled by the ruling coalition, approved the budget Tuesday, paving the way for its enactment by March 31, but the prospect of securing passage of the bills needed to fully implement the budget remains bleak due to objections from the opposition.
The DPJ initially planned to convene the upper house's budget panel session on Thursday, but the schedule was delayed because the ruling and opposition camps disagreed over the format of the debate.
The Constitution states that the annual budget will be enacted within 30 days of being sent to the House of Councillors after securing the approval of the more powerful lower house, even if the upper house rejects it or does not hold a vote on it.
