LDP to Endorse 37 Candidates Involved in Slush Fund Scandal

Tokyo, Jan. 22 (Jiji Press)--Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party will officially endorse 37 candidates involved in its high-profile slush fund scandal in the Feb. 8 general election.

The individuals are included in the party's initial list of official candidates for the House of Representatives election.

In the previous Lower House election in 2024, the LDP refused to officially endorse some of these scandal-tainted candidates. However, the current party leadership under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi apparently believes that they should no longer be punished.

As the scandal is still far from being fully unraveled, some in the party are concerned that officially endorsing scandal-tainted candidates could reignite public criticism.

During an interview on Wednesday, LDP Secretary-General Shunichi Suzuki explained that the party decided not to impose penalties on scandal-tainted party members this time, as they had already faced public judgment in the previous general election.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]