A total of 23 million yen was spent on dinners hosted by a group supporting former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the eve of cherry blossom-viewing parties over five years up to last year, but a total of only 14 million yen is thought to have been collected from the participants during that period, sources close to the matter said.
The special investigation squad of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office is investigating the possibility that Abe's side may have made up the difference of more than 8 million yen.
Until last year, the dinner parties were organized by a political support group for Abe based in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, which is his constituency. They had been held at Tokyo hotels, which are said to have received 23 million yen over the period. Every year, hundreds of supporters from Yamaguchi Prefecture participated in the event, with a participation fee of 5,000 yen per person for food and drink.
According to the sources, the event cost between about 3 million yen and 6 million yen each year during the period from 2015 to 2019, but the participation fees collected by the organizer each year ranged from 2 million yen to less than 4 million yen, and the difference could amount to about 2.5 million yen in some years.
The hotels said that they had issued receipts showing that the difference was paid by the Abe side, and the investigators are aware of the existence of the receipts.
The investigative squad questioned at least 20 people on a voluntary basis, including Abe's state-funded first secretary and private secretaries as well as his local supporters, while analyzing documents submitted by the hotels and the Abe side.
Opposition parties are questioning the Abe side over whether it made up the difference. Parties including a civic group have also filed complaints with the prosecutors office on suspicion of violation of the Political Funds Control Law and the Public Offices Election Law.
Abe has insisted that there was "absolutely no income or disbursement by the support group," and that there is "no truth to the claim that the office covered [the difference]."
On Monday, Abe's office released a statement reading: "In response to an accusation and request for explanations, we are cooperating with the investigation and responded sincerely. We refrain from explaining details."
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