Japan Press Weekly

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2015 March 18 - 24 [POLITICS]

Corporate political donations are ‘unreasonable’: ex-top court chief justice

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party often refers to an old Supreme Court decision to justify its acceptance of political donations from private companies. What exactly is that court decision?

The recent revelation that many cabinet members, including Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, had received donations from government-subsidized companies has increased the public demand seeking a ban on political contributions by corporations and organizations.

In a debate program aired by NHK on March 15, Mizote Kensei, chair of the group of the LDP Upper House members, said, “We cannot agree with the argument calling for prohibiting corporations from making donations to political parties. The Supreme Court acknowledged such contributions as constitutional in the past.”

The top court ruling, which was issued in June 1970, was specifically in regard to the contributions to the LDP made by Yawata Iron & Steel Co. (the current Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation). The ruling states that as a social entity, a private firm is generally allowed to make political donations.

Although a private business is a “social entity”, it is not a sovereign endowed with the right to vote. Suffrage is one of the fundamental human rights that are only given to people.

In November 1993, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Okahara Masao was asked about the controversial court judgment at a Lower House special committee session. He said, “The Supreme Court actually cannot rule that all the candidates violated the Constitution,” and “That is a ruling to save (politicians).” He added that corporate political donations are “unreasonable” from a legal point of view.

Japanese Communist Party lawmaker Kokuta Keiji called for a total ban on political donations from private businesses on March 12 at a Lower House Budget Committee session, saying, “If those enterprises exercise their influence on politics by making monetary contributions, it will lead to infringing upon the fundamental human rights of the general public.”


Past related articles:
> JCP Shiokawa urges gov’t to ban corporate political donations [March 7, 2015]
> Diet should now impose ban on political donations from corporations and other organizations [March 5, 2015]