LDP received 360 million yen in donations from scandal-rocked insurance companies

   Japanese Communist Party representative Sasaki Kensho at a House of Representatives Budget Committee meeting on May 23 criticized the Liberal Democratic Party for continuously receiving political donations from insurance companies that had failed to pay their policyholders due benefits.

   Sasaki revealed that the LDP’s political fund-managing organization had received donations of about 360 million yen from 20 insurance firms in four years since 2002.

   Among them, 13 companies made donations of 41.6 million yen to the LDP in 2005, the year when these companies received administrative punishment from the Financial Services Agency for their failure to pay insurance benefits. The amount accounted for almost half of the total donations given by insurance firms to the LDP that year.

   As of April 13, it was discovered that life-insurance companies failed to pay benefits amounting to about 43.1 billion yen in 441,488 cases and non-life insurance companies 20.4 billion yen in 325,760 cases.

   Sasaki pointed out that amid mounting public criticism of major banks for not paying corporate taxes, Prime Minister Abe Shinzo had said late last year, “The LDP cannot win public understanding if it receives political donations from major banks.” Despite such a statement, Sasaki pointed out, the LDP continues to receive an enormous amount of donations from the insurance companies that caused a social problem by failing to pay insurance benefits.

   “Do you believe that your party can gain public understanding?” Sasaki asked Abe.

   “These corporations make donations as social beings,” said Abe.

   “Nobody will condone the fact that the LDP is receiving donations from insurance companies that failed to pay benefits,” said Sasaki.

   Sasaki also criticized the government for maintaining subsidies for political parties of more than 30 billion yen a year, 250 yen per capita, while imposing heavier burdens on the public. The JCP has always refused the subsidy.

- Akahata, May 24, 2007