Kunio Hatoyama admits mother gave him political funds+

TOKYO, Dec. 8 Kyodo -
Kunio Hatoyama, the younger brother of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and a
former internal affairs and communications minister, admitted Tuesday to having
received political funds from their mother.

''It would be hard to gain people's understanding, as a matter of common sense,
if I were to call it just a parent-child exchange of money,'' Kunio Hatoyama
said during a political fundraising party held in Tokyo. ''And I intend to pay
gift taxes (related to the money) and put it in the state coffers.''
Kunio Hatoyama said he does not know how much he received from his mother but
added he would pay taxes ''for the highest amount'' of donations that people
involved in the case claim were received on his behalf.
Sources familiar with investigations into the case say Kunio Hatoyama received
some of the 3.6 billion yen drawn out of bank accounts registered in the name
of his 87-year-old mother over six years through 2008.
The direction of funds to the brothers apparently commenced after Yukio
Hatoyama's former secretary, who was in charge of accounting for his political
funds body, requested in around 2002 that donations be made from an
organization involving the mother, they said.
''The difference between my case and my brother's is that my political funds
report is crystal clear,'' Kunio Hatoyama said.
Prosecutors plan to indict the 59-year-old former secretary of Yukio Hatoyama
without arrest by the end of the year on suspicion of violating the political
funds control law in connection with the scandal involving the prime minister's
political fund management body.
The former secretary began falsifying political funds reports at least 10 years
ago and the falsified amounts totaled 350 million yen in the five years to
2008, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Yukio Hatoyama said during a Diet session that he had ''not heard anything''
about the funds from his mother or the secretary.
==Kyodo
2009-12-08 23:51:1