Tokyo district public prosecutors’ office says it has arrested Yoshitaka Ikeda, a former vice-education minister
Prosecutors in Japan have made their first arrest in a financial scandal that has engulfed the country’s ruling party and sparked speculation about the future of the prime minister, Fumio Kishida.
The Tokyo district public prosecutors’ office said on Sunday it had arrested Yoshitaka Ikeda, a former vice-education minister, who is suspected of failing to report cash he received from fundraising events organised through his faction in Kishida’s Liberal Democratic party [LDP].
The scandal reaches well beyond Ikeda, however. Last month, Kishida, already battling dismal approval ratings, saw his popularity slump further after LDP politicians were accused of systematically failing to report about ¥600m (£3.3m) in funds, in a possible violation of campaign and election laws.
Most of the politicians belong to the party’s biggest faction, once led by the former prime minister Shinzō Abe, who was assassinated in July 2022.
According to Japanese media reports, the money, which was not declared to tax authorities, was allegedly funnelled into slush funds.
Ikeda is suspected of not reporting extra cash he made from the sale of tickets for fundraising parties organised by the Abe faction.
