On October 7th, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba addressed allegations concerning financial discrepancies within his former faction, the Ishiba Group. In an interview with NHK, Ishiba admitted that there were indeed issues related to political funding, but he described these as administrative oversights. He pledged to implement measures to prevent similar issues from arising in the future.
Just two days after taking office on October 3rd, Ishiba found himself facing accusations linked to his leadership of the Ishiba Group. Reports indicated that from 2019 to 2021, there was unreported income of 800,000 yen from fundraising events, which had not been included in their financial disclosures.
During a press conference at the Prime Minister’s Office, Ishiba commented, “There were indeed instances where several members purchased tickets for these fundraising events, which exceeded the 200,000 yen threshold that required reporting. This was an oversight by our administrative office.”
He further emphasized, “We cannot accept administrative errors, and we are treating this matter with the utmost seriousness. We are currently considering revising the financial reports.”
When pressed about his personal political accountability regarding the situation, Ishiba conveyed his commitment to avoiding such administrative mistakes in the future.
