KANAZAWA Kanazawa, Ishikawa Pref.: MOTEGI Toshimitsu, secretary-general of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, vowed on Friday to impose strict punishments on those responsible for a political funds scandal that has rocked party factions.

The LDP held the first session of its regional roundtable dialogue on political reform, aimed at reflecting the voices of its local branches in planned reform measures in order to rebuild trust damaged due to the scandal.

At the session held in Kanazawa, the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture, central Japan, Motegi promised those from the LDP’s Ishikawa prefectural branch that the party will swiftly implement punishments of lawmakers involved in the scandal.

“We’d like to adopt a system enabling strict action against those responsible, without making the punishments too lenient with higher ranking members or too tough on junior members,” Motegi told reporters after the session.

For the political reform dialogue, senior LDP members including Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio, who heads the party, will travel to all 47 prefectures to listen to what members of local LDP branches and others have to say.

At Friday’s session, many participants urged LDP lawmakers to take political responsibility.

Others voiced dissatisfaction at testimonies given on the scandal by senior members of the LDP faction once led by the late former Prime Minister ABE Shinzo, at the political ethics councils of both chambers of parliament earlier this month.

Some called for the party to follow through on its pledge to dissolve factions.

JIJI Press