Japan’s PM under fire for sending gift catalogues to lawmakers

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is facing criticism from opposition parties after admitting that her local Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) chapter sent congratulatory gift catalogues to lawmakers following last month’s general election.

Takaichi, however, denied that the move was illegal, Caliber.Az reports via Japan's media.

During a parliamentary session on February 25, Takaichi said the Nara Prefecture branch of the LDP used political funds to distribute booklets to 315 party lawmakers elected in the February 8 lower house election. Each lawmaker could select gifts worth roughly 30,000 yen ($190).

“We donated the gifts as the branch of the Nara Prefecture’s second constituency after the lower house election to praise their victories in the very tough election,” Takaichi told the Diet. She confirmed in a social media post that government subsidies were not used to fund the gifts and that she excluded herself from the distribution.

The LDP, together with its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, secured 316 of 465 seats in the lower house, giving the coalition a commanding three-quarters majority.

Opposition lawmakers quickly criticised Takaichi’s move. Masayo Tanabu, citing a similar controversy last year involving former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, said the issue highlighted the ongoing problems of “money and politics” in Japan.

“The mindset of handing out gifts and the sense for how to use money reflect the old culture of the LDP, which we cannot overlook,” said Junya Ogawa, leader of the Centrist Reform Alliance.

Motohisa Furukawa, head of the Democratic Party for the People’s Diet affairs committee, added that the move “only deepens public distrust in politics” and suggested the party’s recent electoral landslide may have made LDP lawmakers “big-headed.”

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Masanao Ozaki defended the practice, saying the government would continue to provide detailed explanations to gain public understanding.

The incident comes amid lingering public scepticism over political finances within the LDP, particularly following a high-profile slush fund scandal in 2023 linked to a faction formerly led by the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a close ally of Takaichi. The scandal had already damaged the party in national elections in 2024 and 2025.

By Aghakazim Guliyev