TOKYO -- Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has drawn renewed criticism after endorsing more than 40 candidates linked to a political slush fund scandal for the upcoming House of Representatives election, Japanese media outlets reported.
The Mainichi Shimbun reported that the finalized candidate list, confirmed on Tuesday, includes more than 40 LDP members implicated in the party's "slush fund" scandal, many of whom had lost the party's endorsement in the 2024 general election following internal disciplinary action.
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The LDP has also eased restrictions this time, allowing most of the controversial candidates to run simultaneously in single-seat constituencies and proportional representation blocs, a move seen as increasing their chances of winning seats, the report said.
The Tokyo Shimbun criticized Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who also serves as the LDP president, for failing to pursue a full investigation into the scandal or push through fundamental political reforms, arguing that such an approach makes it difficult to prevent similar incidents from recurring. It stressed that public trust in politics is the foundation for all policymaking.
Chihiro Okawa, a professor at Kanagawa University, noted that the election is being held not long after the previous one, leaving voters' memories of the scandal still fresh.
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Re-endorsing candidates previously rejected by voters could further damage the LDP's image and cast a chill over the Takaichi administration, he warned.
The slush fund scandal was first revealed in 2023, in which some party factions of the LDP allegedly instructed member lawmakers to sell political fundraising party tickets beyond their assigned quotas without recording the amount as revenue in their political fund reports, and then funneled the surplus back to lawmakers as kickbacks, creating off-the-books funds.
After taking office in October 2025, Takaichi appointed several scandal-tainted figures to key government posts. Takaichi herself was also accused in December last year of accepting a political donation that exceeded the legal maximum, fueling public anger.
