Japanese prosecutors on Thursday searched the offices and residences of ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Manabu Horii in Tokyo and Hokkaido over allegations he paid money to voters in violation of the election law, sources close to the matter said.
The searches came as Horii, a House of Representatives member well known as a former Olympic bronze medalist in speed skating, is already facing separate allegations in a political funds scandal that has hit the ruling party.
While Horii left the party the same day, the fresh probe is likely to come as a blow to the government of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who also heads the LDP.
"A politician should properly carry out election and political activities by following relevant laws," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told a press conference in reference to the case.
According to a source close to his office, Horii had his secretary hand over condolence money under his name to several voters in his constituency in Hokkaido in northern Japan around 2022.
Although his office repeatedly informed him that the payments were illegal, Horii instructed staff to continue making them, saying he could not suddenly stop what had become his customary practice, the sources said.
The condolence money ranged from 10,000 yen ($64) to several tens of thousands of yen, and, according to the allegations, he discussed the amounts in a group chat on the Line messaging app, the sources said.
Under the Public Offices Election Law, politicians are in principle banned from giving condolence money to voters in their constituencies unless they offer them in person by attending a funeral.
In the political funds scandal, prosecutors received a criminal complaint against Horii accusing him of failing to report revenues totaling 21.96 million yen that he received from the LDP faction he belonged to.
In January, Horii acknowledged the misreporting of the revenues at a press conference but provided limited details about how he spent the funds.
In June, he declared he would not run in the next lower house election to take responsibility for the mishandling of political funds but said he did not plan to resign as a lawmaker or leave the LDP.
The political funds scandal has involved many others in the LDP, with some individuals and lawmakers facing indictments. The LDP slapped Horii with a one-year ban on assuming party roles in April.
The scandal centers on funds raised by lawmakers from selling tickets for party faction events that exceeded their assigned quotas. The excess funds were allegedly not recorded in political funds reports and were transferred to the lawmakers.
Horii won bronze in the men's 500-meter speed skating at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics and is serving his fourth term as a lower house member. He has also served as a parliamentary vice minister of the foreign ministry and senior vice minister at the Cabinet Office.
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