ID :
165883
Fri, 03/04/2011 - 16:57
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/165883
The shortlink copeid
Maehara admits illegal donation from foreigner in fresh blow to Kan
TOKYO, March 4 Kyodo -
(UPDATE1-EDS: ADDING KAN'S COMMENTS, OTHER DETAILS) Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara said Friday he received a donation from a South Korean resident of Japan in violation of the law banning monetary contributions from foreigners, 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.
In a news conference after a parliamentary committee session, he acknowledged that the management of political funds is ''completely my responsibility'' and apologized.
The law bans donations from foreign nationals or firms to prevent Japanese politics from being influenced by foreign powers.
''I would like to decide what action to take after fully investigating the matter,'' said Maehara, who stopped short of saying whether it could include a decision about his political fate.
Shoji Nishida, a lawmaker of the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party who pressed Maehara during the House of Councillors Budget Committee session about the dubious donation, urged Kan to remove Maehara from his post.
''It is necessary for Mr. Maehara himself to investigate and make the issue clear,'' Kan told reporters, noting that Maehara had apologized to him for causing trouble.
A senior official of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, however, said on condition of anonymity that the donation issue could lead to debate on whether Maehara should step down.
''He has to quit as a lawmaker if he received the donation knowing it was illegal, and he has to quit from his Cabinet post if he wasn't aware of its illegality,'' the DPJ official said.
According to Nishida, Maehara received at least 200,000 yen over a four-year period from the South Korean resident.
The donor was a 72-year-old South Korean woman living in Japan who operates a ''yakiniku'' grilled meat restaurant in the city of Kyoto. On Friday, Maehara admitted to receiving 50,000 yen.
Maehara said he had known her as a supporter for a long time, but he was unaware that he was receiving political donations from her.
The woman said she has been acquainted with Maehara since he was a junior high school student.
''I provided him with the support and didn't know it violated the law,'' she told Kyodo News. ''I was not asked to do it and didn't intend to take advantage.''
The woman said her and Maehara's families became close after his family moved to her neighborhood and frequented her restaurant. She added she is not a member of Maehara's supporters group though she personally backed him in past elections.
Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda also 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 scandals, Kan is under fire over his leadership and purported lack of control of his government and party amid a 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 implement the budget.
''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.
(UPDATE1-EDS: ADDING KAN'S COMMENTS, OTHER DETAILS) Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara said Friday he received a donation from a South Korean resident of Japan in violation of the law banning monetary contributions from foreigners, 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.
In a news conference after a parliamentary committee session, he acknowledged that the management of political funds is ''completely my responsibility'' and apologized.
The law bans donations from foreign nationals or firms to prevent Japanese politics from being influenced by foreign powers.
''I would like to decide what action to take after fully investigating the matter,'' said Maehara, who stopped short of saying whether it could include a decision about his political fate.
Shoji Nishida, a lawmaker of the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party who pressed Maehara during the House of Councillors Budget Committee session about the dubious donation, urged Kan to remove Maehara from his post.
''It is necessary for Mr. Maehara himself to investigate and make the issue clear,'' Kan told reporters, noting that Maehara had apologized to him for causing trouble.
A senior official of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, however, said on condition of anonymity that the donation issue could lead to debate on whether Maehara should step down.
''He has to quit as a lawmaker if he received the donation knowing it was illegal, and he has to quit from his Cabinet post if he wasn't aware of its illegality,'' the DPJ official said.
According to Nishida, Maehara received at least 200,000 yen over a four-year period from the South Korean resident.
The donor was a 72-year-old South Korean woman living in Japan who operates a ''yakiniku'' grilled meat restaurant in the city of Kyoto. On Friday, Maehara admitted to receiving 50,000 yen.
Maehara said he had known her as a supporter for a long time, but he was unaware that he was receiving political donations from her.
The woman said she has been acquainted with Maehara since he was a junior high school student.
''I provided him with the support and didn't know it violated the law,'' she told Kyodo News. ''I was not asked to do it and didn't intend to take advantage.''
The woman said her and Maehara's families became close after his family moved to her neighborhood and frequented her restaurant. She added she is not a member of Maehara's supporters group though she personally backed him in past elections.
Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda also 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 scandals, Kan is under fire over his leadership and purported lack of control of his government and party amid a 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 implement the budget.
''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.
