Seiji Maehara Received Illegal Political Donations
Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara has admitted that he received illegal political donations from a Korean citizen:
Maehara told the panel he learned Wednesday he got ¥50,000 from “a foreign resident of Japan.” Nishida claimed the foreigner donated ¥200,000 over the past four years.
“Someone told me yesterday (that) I received donations” from the resident, Maehara said. “I would like to return the money and correct the political funds report.”
According to Maehara, the donor owns a Korean barbecue restaurant in the neighborhood where he moved to while in junior high school in Yamashina, Kyoto Prefecture. Maehara said the two have had a close relationship that predates his political career, but indicated he was unaware his acquaintance was donating funds.
It is illegal for Japanese lawmakers to receiving donations from non-Japanese citizens or foreign companies.
The scandal comes just days after Maehara met with South Korea Foreign Minister Kim Sung Hwan. At the meeting Kim reminded Maehara of the DPJ’s position in favor of granting voting rights to non-citizens. DPJ leaders had made statements in favor of such an unpopular policy, but last year they postponed plans to implement it.
Although non-citizens are not allowed to vote in Japan, the DPJ does allow them to become party members and counts their votes in party elections. In a September 2010 editorial, the Yomiuri Shimbun strongly criticized such a system, as it would in effect allow non-citizens power to influence the selection of Prime Ministers:
The Liberal Democratic Party and the Japanese Communist Party require party members to have Japanese nationality. Likewise, the DPJ should limit its rank-and-file party members and supporters to those with Japanese nationality.
Among the DPJ’s rank-and-file party members and supporters, there appear to be many South Korean residents in Japan who want to see foreigners with permanent residence status given local suffrage.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan and former DPJ Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa are staging a battle in the presidential election that could split the party. The nation’s foundations will be damaged if they and the lawmakers supporting them compete with promises to pass a pending foreign suffrage bill, with the aim of garnering votes of DPJ members and supporters in the party’s presidential election.
The DPJ should promptly take measures to correct the situation.
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