Time to pull this bad tooth

日歯連の政治資金流用疑惑

Prosecutors arrested two men on charges of complicity: the former chairman of the JDA, Mr. Sadao Usuda, and a former JDF treasurer. The focal question, once again, concerns whether money played a corrupting role in politics.

Separately, the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors' Office is investigating an alleged ¥100 million donation from Mr. Usuda to the LDP's largest faction headed by former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto. The faction says there is no way to "confirm" who received the money or why. Both cases warrant a full Diet inquiry.

According to investigators, Mr. Usuda conspired with Mr. Yoshida to withdraw ¥50 million from a JDF account as a political donation, and used ¥30 million of it to buy votes in a JDA chairmanship election. The treasurer, Mr. Hirotake Uchida, allegedly arranged the details under instructions from Mr. Usuda.

It was a complex deal that looked more like a money-laundering scheme. First, Mr. Usuda gave a total of ¥50 million to Mr. Yoshida, beginning around 2002 when Mr. Yoshida was a Diet member (he lost in last November's general election), then the money apparently was recycled back to Mr. Usuda under the table. Mr. Usuda was re-elected JDA chairman in March 2003.

Factional feuding in the JDA is an open secret. With members more or less aligned according to their alma maters, a constant power struggle is said to exist. Mr. Usuda may have sought a slush fund to assure his re-election as chairman. But that would probably be only part of the reason why he needed a Diet member to act as a fake donee.

There is little doubt that Mr. Usuda and Mr. Yoshida maintained a close give-and-take relationship. Mr. Usuda reportedly told prosecutors that he had used some of the money in the selection of candidates for the July 11 Upper House election. Was he trying to bend politics to serve the interests of the dental association? Investigators must provide a full answer to the question.

A complete investigation must be made into the allegation that Mr. Usuda gave a ¥100 million check to the Hashimoto faction before the 2001 Upper House election. The check was allegedly cashed by a staff member of the faction's fund management group. The faction later recognized the money as a donation in its revised campaign funding report, but the JDF kept it secret.

At the time, Mr. Usuda was an official JDA candidate for the Upper House election. The donation was apparently aimed at enlisting the support of the Hashimoto faction. Mr. Hashimoto, however, was quoted as saying he has "no recollection" of having received the check.

The alleged contribution could constitute a violation of the Political Funds Control Law, which is designed to ensure fairness in political activities through transparent reporting of fund flows.

It appears that unfair practices in the dental industry are contributing to corruption. There are rumors have it that dentists are obliged to make donations when they go independent to run their clinics. Excessive competition in the industry, stemming from a marked increase in the number of dentists, is said to be responsible for political involvement.

The scandals bear a disturbing message: Backdoor money deals aimed at political patronage might well continue unless such practices are eliminated. Indeed, it is time that the JDF re-examine its role as the political arm of the JDA.

This is not the first time that the industry's shady ties to politics have been exposed. In May, several people, including the former chief of the Social Insurance Agency, Mr. Takeshi Shimomura, were indicted for bribing members of a government panel to ease restrictions on dental fees.

Politicians must get their act together. For a start, those involved must tell the truth. How can people trust a politician who says he doesn't remember whether he received a huge check?

The Japan Times Weekly
July 31, 2004
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      検察当局はさらに、臼田容疑者が自民党橋本派に渡したとされる1億円の政治献金についても捜査している。

      調べによると、臼田容疑者は吉田容疑者と共謀して政治献金用として計5000万円を日歯連の口座から引き出し、そのうち3000万円を日歯会長選の多数派工作資金に流用した疑い。

      臼田容疑者が資金を吉田容疑者に渡し、後に返却させて裏金化したとされる。臼田容疑者は日歯会長に再選された。

      臼田容疑者は、再選を確実にするために裏金作りをしたとされるが、前議員を政治献金の受領者にしたことにはさらに裏がありそうだ。

      臼田容疑者は資金の一部を7月の参院選の候補者選定に関連して使ったという。日歯の利益のために政治が歪められた可能性もある。

      01年の参院選前に、臼田容疑者が1億円の小切手を橋本派に渡したという容疑も解明すべきだ。

      当時、臼田容疑者は参院選の日歯代表候補だった。献金は橋本派の支持を取りつける目的で行われたといわれるが、橋本氏は小切手を受け取った「記憶はない」という。この献金は政治資金規正法違反の可能性がある。

      歯科医は医院開業する際に献金を求められるという。業界の政治介入は、歯科医の供給過剰、過当競争が原因といわれている。

      5月には、下村健元社会保険庁長官など数人が歯科医の診療報酬引き上げをめぐり、贈収賄容疑で起訴された。

      公明正大な政治のために、関係者は真実を明らかにせねばならない。巨額の小切手を受け取った記憶がないという政治家をどうして信用できようか。