TOKYO, 1 May: Outraged Japanese opposition lawmakers submitted a no-confidence motion on Friday, accusing the governing party of trying to push through a budget bill without adequate debate because of disruptions caused by a scandal over its fund-raising practices.
\nOpposition politicians slammed Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for failing to provide details about slush funds created by members of the governing Liberal Democratic Party\u2019s leading faction, or where the money went. Kishida apologized for the scandal, which has rocked his government, on Thursday in a rare appearance before the parliamentary ethics committee that was broadcast live.
\nKishida, who also proposed reforms of the Political Funds Control Law, apparently attended the session in an effort to end debate on the scandal and secure the swift passage of a 112 trillion yen ($744 billion) budget bill that has been repeatedly stalled.
\nOpposition lawmakers were outraged Friday when budget committee chair Itsunori Onodera, a governing party member, scheduled a vote later in the day on the budget bill. They submitted the no-confidence motion against Onodera, accusing him of attempting to push through the bill without sufficient debate on the budget. The no-confidence motion was rejected because of the governing party\u2019s majority in Parliament.
\nKishida has fought plummeting support ratings since the corruption scandal emerged. He has removed a number of Cabinet ministers and others from party executive posts, but support ratings for his government have dwindled to around 20%.
\nThe scandal centers on unreported political funds raised through tickets sold for party events. It led to 10 people \u2014 lawmakers and their aides \u2014 being indicted in January.
\nMore than 80 governing party lawmakers, most of them belonging to a major party faction previously led by assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, have acknowledged not reporting funds in a possible violation of the Political Funds Control Law. The money received from the long-term practice is alleged to have gone into unmonitored slush funds.
\nEarlier Friday, two prominent Abe-faction members \u2014 former trade and economy minister Yasutoshi Nishimura and former chief Cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno \u2014 appeared before the ethics committee and denied personally running the slush funds.
\nNishimura and Matsuno said Abe proposed ending the practice in 2022, citing the lack of transparency and risk of causing public distrust. They said the practice somehow resumed after Abe\u2019s death but they did not know why.
\nMatsuno accepted about 10 million yen ($66,500) in unreported funds from the faction over the past five years, which he has since reported. AP<\/p>\n