Japan ex-PM Abe questioned by prosecutors on or before Thursday - media (updated)
18/12/2020 03:59
(Adds details, background)
TOKYO, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Former Japanese Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe was questioned by Tokyo prosecutors on or before
Thursday, commercial broadcaster TV Asahi reported on Friday,
citing several unnamed lawmakers of the ruling Liberal
Democratic Party.
Domestic media said earlier this month that prosecutors had
asked Abe to report for voluntary questioning in a case they
were building against his secretary over unreported political
funds involving as much as 40 million yen ($386,920).
Abe's office did not immediately respond to questions and no
further details were immediately available.
Abe, who stepped down due to poor health in September, is
under fire on suspicion his office helped cover the costs of
dinner parties for supporters, a possible violation of funding
laws that Abe vehemently denied when questioned in parliament
last year.
The scandal, which dogged Abe during the last year of his
tenure, also risks damaging current premier Yoshihide Suga, who
was Abe's right-hand man during his 2012-2020 term and is
already under pressure for his response to the coronavirus,
including a U-turn on a travel subsidy programme.
Suga has also drawn fire for joining end of the year social
gatherings after imploring Japanese citizens to avoid such
parties as the country sees a record number of coronavirus
cases. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL42IW0OO
Politicians in Japan cannot provide anything to constituents
that could be construed as a gift. The rule is so strict that
two ministers in Abe's cabinet last year had to quit over giving
things such as melons, crabs and even potatoes to voters in
their constituencies.
($1 = 103.3800 yen)
(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka and Elaine Lies; Editing by
Himani Sarkar and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
((kiyoshi.takenaka@thomsonreuters.com; +81 3 4563 2788;))