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2007 Assessment

Japan: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Japan: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Political Financing
Indicators		Score
20	Are there regulations governing political financing?	71
21	Are the regulations governing political financing effective?	42
22	Can citizens access records related to political financing?	83

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Are there regulations governing political financing?

20a: In law, there are regulations governing private contributions to political parties.

Score:

YES

Comments: The Political Fund Control Act stipulates a rule regarding political funds for parties and other organizations.

References: Political Fund Control Act (PFCA).

20b: In law, there are limits on individual donations to candidates and political parties.

Score:

YES

Comments: An individual donation to a single candidate is restricted to 1.5 million yen annually. Political parties and political organizations are restricted to 20 million yen annually.

References: (Section?) 3 of Article 2 bis 1. Article 22 of Political Fund Control Act (PFCA).

20c: In law, there are limits on corporate donations to candidates and political parties.

Score:

YES

Comments: A political donation by corporations, labor unions and the other organizations is restricted to 7.5 millon yen to 30 millon yen, with specific ceilings for organizations determined by capital, number of union members and other factors.

References: (Section?) 3 of Article 21, bis 2.3 of Political Fund Control Act (PFCA).

20d: In law, there are limits on total political party expenditures.

Score:

YES

Comments: There are no limits on total expenditure.

References: No provision exists on this issue.

20e: In law, there are requirements for disclosure of donations to political candidates and parties.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there are any requirements mandating the disclosure of financial contributions to political parties or candidates. NO: A NO score is earned if there are no requirements mandating the disclosure of contributions to political parties or candidates, existing regulations do not require a donor\'s name or amount given, or the regulations allow for anonymous donations.$

Comments: Political parties and political organizations should present financial reports of donations to MGA or LEMC once a year on a case-by-case basis. MGA or LEMC disclose the financial reports on its respective Gazette.

References: Article 12 of Political Fund Control Act (PFCA).

20f: In law, there are requirements for the independent auditing of the finances of political parties and candidates.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Article 14 of Political Fund Control Act (PFCA).

20g: In law, there is an agency or entity that monitors the political financing process.

Score:

YES

Comments: It is known that Ministry of General Affairs or the Election Control Commission receives financial report from political parties and political organizations. However, it is not known if they do monitor the reports. It is known that the reports are kept in the files of the Ministry or of the Commission. But in practice there is no third party agency or entity that monitors the political financing process.

As an example, one congressman has three or four political organizations such as a chapter of his political party with his constituency, a political finance organization, and other poltical organizations whose finanncial reports are to be presented to the Election Control Commission. There are transfers of funds among them and to monitor the whole picture of political financing is very difficult.

References: None available

Peer Review Comments: The Transparency International National Integrity Systems report for Japan states on page 20, "The political parties are required to disclose their incomes and expenses once a year and to present their reports to the Minister of General Affairs or the Election Control Commission (Article 12)."

Are the regulations governing political financing effective?

21a: In practice, the limits on individual donations to candidates and political parties are effective in regulating an individual's ability to financially support a candidate or political party.

Score:

100

Comments: In practice, it is deemed that the limits are ineffective.

References: Interview with Mrs. Masako Owaki.

Peer Review Comments: In practice, it's deemed that the limits are effective.

21b: In practice, the limits on corporate donations to candidates and political parties are effective in regulating a company's ability to financially support a candidate or political party.

Score:

100

Comments: In practice, it is deemed that the limits are ineffective.

References: Interview with Mrs. Masako Owaki.

Peer Review Comments: The limits seem effective.

21c: In practice, the limits on total party expenditures are effective in regulating a political party's ability to fund campaigns or politically-related activities.

Score:

100

Comments: Art.142-143 of the Public Office Election Act, specifies the detailed limit on each candidate 's expenditure during campaign period, not on the limit of political party's expenditure to fund campaigns.

The limit on each candidate will have some influence on the limit of the political party's expenditures.

References: No such regulations exist.

Peer Review Comments: The Public Office Election Act specifies a ceiling on candidates' election expenses (see the Transparency International National Integrity Systems report on Japan, page 20).

21d: In practice, when necessary, an agency or entity monitoring political financing independently initiates investigations.

Score:

100

Comments: MGA or LEMC examine the received report and when necessary, require explanation and make some investigations, although rarely.

References: Article 31 of Political Fund Control Act (PFCA).

Peer Review Comments: I don't think this is really being done.

21e: In practice, when necessary, an agency or entity monitoring political financing imposes penalties on offenders.

Score:

100

Comments: If the financial report was made violating the Political Fund Control Act, a penalty of under three years in prison or a fine under 500,000 yen is to be imposed.

After each election some secretaries and campaign agents of candidates have been arrested for violating the Public Office Election Act.

References: Article 24 of Political Fund Control Act (PFCA). [ LINK ]

21f: In practice, contributions to political parties and candidates are audited.

Score:

100

Comments: Regarding the annual political party subsidies, a political party should present financial reports annually to MGA, attached by an audit certificate done by a Certified Public Accountant. Except for the Japanese Communist Party, all other parties receive subsidies under this law in exhange for disclosure.

The audit undertaken by Certified Public Accountant is limited to annual political party subsidies granted by the government. The rate of dependency on political party subsidies is 21.6% in case of Liberal Democratic Party and 46.1% in case of The Democratic Party of Japan ( 31March 2005 Nihon Keizai Newspaper.) 4HEN the score could be 50

References: Article 19 of Political Party Subsidies Act (PPSA).

Can citizens access records related to political financing?

22a: In practice, political parties and candidates disclose data relating to financial support and expenditures within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments: The financial report received by MGA or LEMC are to be offered for public inspection by MGA or LEMC in proper time.

References: Article 20 of Political Fund Control Act (PFCA).

Peer Review Comments: I don't think the system works with complete transparency in practice. For example, the suicide of Toshikatsu Matsuoka, the agriculture minister, in May 2007 appears to have been related to a controversy about expense claims.

22b: In practice, citizens can access the financial records of political parties and candidates within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments: The financial report received by MGA or LEMC are to be offered for public inspection by MGA or LEMC in proper time.

References: Article 20 of Political Fund Control Act (PFCA).

22c: In practice, citizens can access the financial records of political parties and candidates at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments: The financial report received by MGA or LEMC are to be offered for public inspection by MGA or LEMC for three years at no cost.

References: Article 20 of Political Fund Control Act (PFCA). Article 31 of Political Party Subsidies Act (PPSA).

Peer Review Comments: One might be able to access the official financial records, but there would be room for skepticism about their accuracy.