Ishiba Shigeru, Prime Minister of Japan: A considerable number of non-endorsements will arise, but from the perspective of gaining public trust, I will make the final judgment responsibly as the authorized certifier.  

Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru said on October 6 that the ruling Liberal Democratic Party will not endorse former Abe faction members, who were punished for their involvement in a slush fund scandal, such as former economy minister Hagiuda Koichi, as candidates for the House of Representatives election on October 27.

He also said that he will not allow other party members disciplined in the slush fund scandal to run for multiple seats in the proportional representation system.  

Those expected to be unapproved are former education minister Shimomura Hakubun and former economic minister Nishimura Yasutoshi, former Abe faction leaders who are currently facing strict penalties of suspension from their party membership. 

In addition to these big shots, those who have been suspended from party positions for one year and have not attended the hearing of the Political Ethics Examination Commission are also expected not to be endorsed.   

They include former reconstruction minister Takagi Takeshi, Hagiuda Koichi, former reconstruction minister Hirasawa Katsuei, and former state minister of the Cabinet Office Mitsubayashi Hiromi.  

Furthermore, any member who has been disciplined by the party and has not fulfilled their accountability without sufficient local understanding, will also be disqualified from running in the upcoming general election. 

On the other hand, approximately 40 other lower house members implicated in the fundraising scandal, including those who have not been punished, will be allowed to run for election in their constituencies, but will not be allowed to run for election in the proportional representation category.  

Noda Yoshihiko, the leader of the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party, criticized the ruling party’s endorsement of about 40 members of the lower house who have been involved in the scandal. 

 Noda Yoshihiko, leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party: The 40 members are going to run in the general election, and I think that this framework, in which most of them will be officially endorsed, will not be able to gain the public's understanding at all.  

Noda intends to continue to press hard on the issue of the ruling party’s endorsement of the slush fund tainted Diet members.