Newsfrom Japan
Tokyo, Feb. 20 (Jiji Press)–Two lawmakers of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party are willing to appear before the House of Representatives’ Deliberative Council on Political Ethics over a high-profile money scandal within the LDP, the party told the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan on Tuesday.
The two are former education minister Ryu Shionoya, who was a senior member of an intraparty faction once led by the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and former internal affairs minister Ryota Takeda, who was secretary-general of a faction headed by former LDP Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai.
The CDP and other opposition parties welcomed the willingness of the two LDP lawmakers, but argued that it would not be enough to uncover the truth behind the scandal.
“We cannot proceed with the (budget deliberation) schedule based on this,” CDP Diet affairs chief Jun Azumi said.
“We cannot accept it,” said Takashi Endo, Diet affairs chief of Nippon Ishin No Kai (Japan Innovation Party). “We have no choice but to make a stern response.”
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]