Obsession with fault-finding
(From The Japan Times March 10 issue)

前原外相辞任、あら探しへの執着

Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara's resignation over receipt of political donations from a Korean resident underscores a problematic Political Funds Control Law and politicians' obsession with fault-finding to pull others down.

Mr. Maehara resigned March 6 after acknowledging that his funds management body received ¥50,000 annually from 2005 to 2008 and in 2010 from the Korean resident, a 72-year old female owner of a Korean barbecue restaurant in Kyoto, who has been an acquaintance of him since his middle school days. The law prohibits politicians from receiving donations from foreign nationals, foreign corporate bodies and other foreign organizations. The woman did not know about the ban and made the donations in her Japanese name.

Mr. Shoji Nishida, a Liberal Democratic Party Upper House member who took up Mr. Maehara's funds problem in the Diet, had received a tip-off that the restaurant hangs a photo showing Mr. Maehara and the woman together. It appears that this led him to consider targeting Mr. Maehara for possible misconduct. He found that the cooking license in the restaurant carried the woman's Korean name and later examined reports filed by Mr. Maehara's funds management body.

It is true that Mr. Maehara violated the law. But if foreign nationals use Japanese names in making donations, it will be very difficult for any politician to check their identity. Mr. Maehara's resignation could set a precedent for one Cabinet or Diet member after another being forced to resign after receiving small sums of donations from foreign nationals. This could cause great confusion in Japanese politics.

Article 22, Section 5 of the Political Funds Control Law, while banning political donations from foreigners or foreign entities, lets Japanese-registered firms controlled by foreign capital make political donations if they are listed on stock exchanges for at least five years. It allows room for foreign interests influencing Japanese politics. The Diet must seriously discuss whether this provision is appropriate from the viewpoint of protecting national interests and needs any change to hedge against undesirable situations.

前原外相が外国人からの政治献金受領問題で辞任し、政治資金規正法の問題点と、政治家同士の足の引っ張り合いが浮き彫りになった。

前原氏は自身の政治資金団体が4年間で計20万円を在日韓国人から受けたことを認め辞任した。日本名での献金であれば身元を確認するのは難しい。前原氏の辞任後、外国人からの少額の献金で辞任する閣僚や国会議員が続出すれば、日本の政治は混乱するだろう。

政治資金規正法の第5章22条は、外国人や外国法からの政治献金を禁じているものの、日本で登録された外国資本の企業は国内で上場して5年以上ならば献金可で、外国勢力による日本の政治への影響の余地を与えている。国益を守り望ましくない状況を避けるためにこの条項が適切かどうか、国会での議論が必要だ。