Takaichi Defends Gift Catalog Distribution to LDP Members

Tokyo, Feb. 25 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Wednesday defended her distribution of a gift catalog to all House of Representatives lawmakers of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, who won Lower House seats in the Feb. 8 general election. The act “poses no problem under law,” Takaichi, who heads the LDP, said at a plenary meeting of the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the Diet, Japan’s parliament, answering a question from Masayo Tanabu, secretary-general of the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan. Takaichi said that she presented gifts to the LDP Lower House members as she appreciated their election to the all-important lower Diet chamber in the tough general election and wanted them to use the items for their political activities. An item worth about 30,000 yen was given to each of 315 LDP lawmakers in the Lower House, according to Takaichi. In the gift catalog system, recipients can choose a product or service from a catalog provided by the sender. The gifts were donated by the LDP’s branch in the No. 2 constituency in Nara Prefecture, western Japan, which is headed by Takaichi, the prime minister said. The costs for the gifts were covered with political funds of the branch, and the items were donated to LDP Lower House members from the branch, she said. Opposition parties are ramping up their criticisms. CDP leader Shunichi Mizuoka told a meeting of the party that the LDP has caused a money issue again, suggesting his intention to grill Takaichi through parliamentary deliberations. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]