At Least 10 "Slush Fund" Lawmakers to Miss LDP Endorsement

Tokyo, Oct. 8 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, also president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, now plans not to give the party's official endorsement in the upcoming general election to at least 10 LDP lawmakers involved in the party's "slush fund" scandal, informed sources said Tuesday.

On the day, Ishiba met twice with LDP Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama and Election Strategy Committee chief Shinjiro Koizumi. "We made final coordination (on the party's official endorsement)," Ishiba told reporters later. "We will make a decision at (Wednesday's) meeting."

On Wednesday, the new prime minister is slated to face a parliamentary debate with leaders of other parties and then dissolve the House of Representatives for a snap election on Oct. 27.

Among scandal-tainted lawmakers who are expected to miss the party's official endorsement are former party policy chief Koichi Hagiuda and five others who were slapped by the party in April with heavy penalties that are still in effect.

The party also plans to bar lawmakers involved in the scandal from running both in single-seat constituencies and under the proportional representation system. As this may cause a shortage of candidates, Ishiba instructed Moriyama and others to find more candidates, especially women.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]