Auto Industry Donates Over ¥300 Million to LDP: Political Party Funding in Japan
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A 2017 report on political funding income and expenditure published by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications shows that the Liberal Democratic Party came top for the fifth consecutive year for political party income with an amount of ¥25.8 billion, an increase of 7% from 2016. Following the LDP were the Japanese Communist Party, Kōmeitō, and the former Democratic Party.
Political Party Income and Expenditure in 2017 (￥billion)
| Income | Expenditure | |
|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democratic Party | 25.9 | 25.8 |
| Japanese Communist Party | 21.3 | 21.5 |
| Kōmeitō | 12.1 | 13.9 |
| Former Democratic Party | 9.0 | 12.5 |
| Party of Hope | 2.1 | 1.8 |
| Nippon Ishin no Kai | 1.8 | 1.6 |
| Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan | 1.3 | 5.2 |
| Social Democratic Party | 0.9 | 1.1 |
| Liberal Party | 0.5 | 0.3 |
| Total | 74.7 | 78.9 |
Compiled by Nippon.com based on data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications political funding report.
The total overall revenue for political parties was ¥74.6 billion, with party state funding accounting for 42% or ¥31.3 billion of that. Excluding the JCP, which refuses to accept these government subsidies and is calling for their abolishment, parties’ dependence on state funding was more than 58.7%. Parties shown to be highly dependent were the former DP with 87.2% dependency, the Liberal Party with 83.5%, and the LDP with 68.1%.
Donations accounted for approximately 10% of the LDP’s income. Payments to the LDP’s fund management organization The People’s Political Association amounted to ¥2.8 billion. The top contributing corporations and industrial bodies were Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, Japan Iron and Steel Federation, and Japan Electrical Manufacturers’ Association. In addition to JAMA, a number of individual automobile manufacturers donated large amounts, including ¥64.4 million from Toyota, ¥37 million from Nissan, and ¥30.6 million from Subaru. JAMA and its member companies alone donated more than ¥300 million. Meanwhile, among lobbying groups, one donation that particularly stood out was ¥200 million from the Japan Medical Association.
Top 20 Corporation/Industrial Body Donations to The People’s Political Association
| Corporation/Organization | Donations (¥ million) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association | 80.4 |
| 2 | Japan Iron and Steel Federation | 80.0 |
| 3 | Japan Electrical Manufacturers’ Association | 77.0 |
| 4 | Toyota | 64.4 |
| 5 | Toray | 50.0 |
| 6 | Petroleum Association of Japan | 50.0 |
| 7 | Canon | 40.0 |
| 8 | Real Estate Companies Association of Japan | 40.0 |
| 9 | Nissan | 37.0 |
| 10 | Sumitomo Chemical | 36.0 |
| 11 | Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal | 35.0 |
| 12 | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries | 33.0 |
| 13 | Nomura Holdings | 32.0 |
| 14 | Subaru | 30.6 |
| 15 | Daiwa Securities Group | 30.0 |
| 16 | Japan Prefabricated Construction Suppliers and Manufacturers Association | 30.0 |
| 17 | Hitachi | 28.5 |
| 18 | Panasonic | 28.5 |
| 19 | Mitsui & Co. | 28.0 |
| 20 | Mitsubishi Corporation | 28.0 |
Compiled by Nippon.com based on data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications political funding report.
(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Jiji.)