Takaichi under fire after spending $60,700 on post-election gifts for ruling party MPs
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is facing mounting criticism after revealing that she distributed gift catalogues worth around ¥30,000 ($190) each to more than 300 lawmakers from her ruling party following this month’s general election.
Takaichi said the catalogues were sent to all 315 lower house members of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) as a gesture of appreciation after what she described as an “extremely tough” campaign.
In a social media post, she said she had hoped the gifts would be “beneficial” to lawmakers.
“We thought of items that would be useful for activities as members of parliament, but with no time to select appropriate items for each individual…we decided to provide catalog gifts so that each member could choose items beneficial to their political activities,” Takaichi said.
Speaking in the upper chamber of the Diet, Japan’s parliament, Takaichi insisted there was “no legal problem” with the distribution.
She said the catalogues were funded not by state subsidies but by the LDP branch in Nara Prefecture’s No. 2 constituency, which she heads. According to her explanation, the total cost amounted to roughly ¥9.45 million ($60,700), including tax and delivery fees.
This row erupted after opposition lawmaker Masayo Tanabu of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan questioned the value of the gifts, their funding source and their purpose.
Against the law?
Japan’s Political Funds Control Act prohibits donations connected to the political activities of candidates and bars contributions to individual politicians.
Although, Takaichi maintained that the catalogues constituted permissible political spending by a local party branch, rather than personal donations.
She also said she had considered hosting celebratory dinners but opted for catalogues due to scheduling pressures, including preparations for a policy speech and diplomatic engagements.
However, the episode has revived broader concerns about money and politics within the LDP.
A series of past disclosures involving gift vouchers and opaque funding practices under previous administrations has already fuelled public scepticism about the party’s financial culture.
Tanabu drew comparisons with a controversy last year, when former prime minister Shigeru Ishiba apologised for distributing gift vouchers worth ¥100,000 ($640) each to 15 LDP lawmakers.
Additionally, former prime minister Fumio Kishida reportedly distributed gift vouchers worth ¥100,000 yen ($640) each at a gathering with parliamentary vice-ministers while he was in office.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
