Some 660 Japanese lawyers and scholars filed a criminal complaint with Tokyo prosecutors on Thursday, accusing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of breaking funding rules by subsidizing a supporters' event, media said
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st May, 2020) Some 660 Japanese lawyers and scholars filed a criminal complaint with Tokyo prosecutors on Thursday, accusing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of breaking funding rules by subsidizing a supporters' event, media said.
The complaint seeks an investigation into a lavish reception held the night before a traditional cherry blossom viewing party in April 2018, the Kyodo news agency reported. It said the Tokyo prosecutor's office would consider whether to accept it.
"It is assumed that the prime minister intended to strengthen his support base by having his supporters enjoy the cherry blossom party and the pre-event without feeling a financial burden," the complaint reads.
The filing estimates that some 800 people, including many voters from Abe's constituency, were invited to the dinner party at a hotel that charges at least 11,000 Yen ($102) for such events. But the participants reportedly paid less than a half of that sum, with the rest believed to have been paid for by Abe's support group.
Abe and two executives of his support group failed to declare the spending, estimated at 4.8 million yen, in a report submitted to the government, which would be a violation of political funding laws, the lawyers and scholars have argued.
