Liberal Democratic Party officials admitted on October 24 that the ruling party had paid local organizations and party branches, such as prefectural chapters, 20 million yen per year for activities to expand the party's popularity. 

Such activity expenses were paid uniformly to the branches headed by former Diet members who did not run for the House of Representatives election, as well as to the branches headed by candidates who were not endorsed in Sunday’s general election due to involvement in a slush fund scandal.

The opposition parties, including the Constitutional Democratic Party, criticized the LDP for virtually “paying certification fees to candidates who were not certified.”

In response,

S/ Ishiba Shigeru, Prime Minister of Japan: We are giving this to political party branches, not to unapproved candidates. We will not use such money for election at all.

He then emphasized that the money was not paid to “candidates” but to “party branches” to communicate the LDP's policies to voters.