Newsfrom Japan
Tokyo, Feb. 28 (Jiji Press)–A Japanese parliament political ethics panel Wednesday decided to hold hearings over a money scandal involving factions of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party over two days from Thursday.
On the first day, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the LDP’s president, and former internal affairs minister Ryota Takeda will appear before the Deliberative Council on Political Ethics of the House of Representatives, the all-important lower chamber of the Diet.
Hearings will be held on Friday morning for former industry minister Yasutoshi Nishimura and former Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, and in the afternoon for former LDP General Council Chairman Ryu Shionoya and former LDP Diet affairs leader Tsuyoshi Takagi.
Shionoya previously headed the decision-making body of the LDP faction once led by the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Matsuno, Nishimura and Takagi all previously served as top secretary at the Abe faction. Takeda used to be top secretary at the faction headed by former LDP Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai.
Each of the six Lower House lawmakers will have 15 minutes to make explanations, followed by 65 minutes of question and answer time by ruling and opposition lawmakers.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]