Nippon Ishin’s Fujita Defends Payments to Secretary’s Firm

Tokyo, Nov. 4 (Jiji Press)–Fumitake Fujita, co-leader of Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party) in the ruling coalition, said Tuesday that his reported payments from public funds to a firm headed by his secretary were “lawful.” At a press conference in Tokyo, Fujita stressed that he has no intention of resigning from his party post. Nippon Ishin chief Hirofumi Yoshimura, also governor of Osaka Prefecture, denied on the same day that he would dismiss Fujita. The payments in question were recently reported by the Japanese Communist Party’s official newspaper. According to the newspaper, Fujita paid a total of about 21 million yen to his first state-paid secretary’s firm between 2017 and 2024, mainly for leaflet printing services. The amount included some 19.65 million yen from public funds. The newspaper argued that the payments were problematic because the secretary received 7.2 million yen in annual compensation from the firm. At Tuesday’s press conference, Fujita said that he had never received donations from the firm or the secretary. He explained that he placed orders with the firm because it was a “reliable supplier” familiar with political activities. Still, Fujita said, “I take seriously criticism that the (payment) arrangement could cause misunderstanding and raise suspicion.” He added that he will no longer place orders with the firm. Speaking to reporters at the Osaka prefectural government office, Yoshimura noted that the payments were backed by “actual deals.” When asked whether it is appropriate for Fujita to stay on as Nippon Ishin co-leader, Yoshimura responded, “It’s not a matter of resigning.” At the same time, Yoshimura said his party will ban its members from paying money to firms headed by their secretaries. Meanwhile, Akira Koike, head of the JCP’s secretariat, criticized Fujita’s explanation at the press conference, saying that he was “defiant” throughout the session. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]