Abe Avoids Criminal Liability in 'Cherry Blossom Scandal'... Japanese Prosecutors Summarily Indict Only Secretary

On the 24th, Abe's case was closed with a non-prosecution decision
"No evidence of conspiracy"... Criticism of 'scapegoating'

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe [Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was accused of violating the Political Funds Control Act, was dismissed without prosecution on the 24th. This decision was made on the grounds that there was no evidence that the prime minister was directly involved or conspired in the accounting process related to inviting local constituents to a luxury hotel in Tokyo and providing entertainment in conjunction with the government-hosted annual spring event, the "Cherry Blossom Viewing Party." The Japanese prosecutors faced criticism for conducting a lenient investigation by effectively closing the case through a summary indictment of only Abe’s secretary, which was seen as a scapegoating tactic.

According to NHK and other sources, the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office’s Special Investigation Department decided not to prosecute former Prime Minister Abe on this day and filed a summary indictment against Hiroyuki Haikawa, the chief secretary of the "Shinzo Abe Supporters Association," for violating the Political Funds Control Act. Abe was accused of this charge in May.

After beginning his second term, Abe held a pre-event party every April from 2013 until last year, ahead of the government’s "Cherry Blossom Viewing Party," inviting supporters from his electoral district in Yamaguchi Prefecture to a dinner event. During this process, participants paid only a small participation fee, with the remainder covered by Abe’s side, but the political funds income and expenditure reports submitted to the election management committee did not include these amounts, leading to allegations of omission.

It is known that the total amount spent by Abe’s side in this manner from 2015 to last year reached 9 million yen (approximately 96 million KRW). In response, the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office’s Special Investigation Department considered that the retention period for income and expenditure reports held by the election management committee had expired for events before 2015 and conducted investigations based on reports from 2016 to last year, covering four years. Subsequently, they applied charges to Secretary Haikawa for failing to report a total of 30 million yen in the reports.

Additionally, during investigations of Abe’s office staff and others, the Special Investigation Department confirmed the allegations of covering the difference and on the 21st questioned former Prime Minister Abe about his involvement. However, Abe claimed ignorance of the unreported facts, and foreign media reported that prosecutors ultimately judged it difficult to hold him criminally responsible and decided not to prosecute. The Special Investigation Department stated, "The accounting was solely conducted by the local office, and there is no evidence that former Prime Minister Abe was aware of or conspired in the unreported facts."

Regarding this case, Abe has been criticized for the prosecutors’ decision to dismiss charges against him while only indicting the related secretary summarily, which is seen as a scapegoating conclusion. Opposition parties are expected to continue their backlash.

As the controversy grows, the Japanese political sphere plans to arrange a session on the 25th for former Prime Minister Abe to appear directly before the National Diet to provide explanations. This will be done through the members’ steering committees or steering committee boards of both the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors. The Asahi Shimbun also reported, citing a close aide to Abe, that Abe himself intends to meet with reporters in the afternoon to provide explanations.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.