7 LDP “Slush Fund” Lawmakers Given Govt Posts

Tokyo, Oct. 22 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government appointed a total of 54 state and parliamentary vice ministers on Wednesday, including seven lawmakers involved in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s slush fund scandal. The appointment of the seven LDP members, approved at an extraordinary cabinet meeting following the launch of new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s cabinet on Tuesday, may draw criticism as public opposition to the scandal remains strong. While Takaichi, who also serves as LDP president, did not offer ministerial posts to lawmakers involved in the scandal, she appointed Koichi Hagiuda, one of the scandal-hit lawmakers, as the party’s executive acting secretary-general. When Takaichi assumed the LDP presidency on Oct. 4, she said, referring to the scandal-hit lawmakers, “I want them to work hard.” “We appointed the right people to the right positions under the concept of all generations’ full participation,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told a press conference Wednesday. The lawmakers in question “have already been punished by the party and have given explanations before a political ethics committee,” Kihara said, indicating that there was no problem with their appointments. Hirofumi Ryu, parliamentary affairs chief of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, told reporters that the scandal “has not yet been resolved.” “We will continue to press the issue during the upcoming deliberations in the Diet,” he added. Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People, another opposition party, said, “It is important to fulfill accountability in good faith if required by the Diet.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]