Japan Innovation Party lawmaker suspected of unauthorized use of campaigner names in report
OSAKA -- Nippon Ishin (the Japan Innovation Party) lawmaker Kaoru Nishida is suspected of unauthorized use of supporter names in the financial report for his April 2023 Osaka Prefectural Assembly election campaign, the Mainichi Shimbun has learned. Although the report indicated that these supporters received compensation from Nishida's side, some supporters have stated that they did not get paid.
Nishida, 58, is now serving his first term as a House of Representatives member after defeating his rivals including a former Komeito lawmaker in the October 2024 general election.
Previously, Nishida was a member of the Osaka Prefectural Assembly, where he secured his fifth term in the April 9, 2023, election. The report of his campaign expenses was submitted to the prefectural election administration committee and accepted 12 days after election day.
In the report, the expenditure section listed the names of nine supporters, and it indicated that Nishida's camp had paid a total of 790,000 yen (about $5,400) in labor costs on the election day on the grounds that the supporters were employed as office staff or vehicle campaign workers. Receipts were also attached as evidence of the supporters receiving compensation.
However, a man in his 50s listed as an office staff member testified, "I helped with some tasks before the campaigning officially started, but I did not work during the campaign period, nor did I receive compensation." He noticed his name in the report around October 2024 and reported it to a Nippon Ishin executive.
The man stated that after the election day, Nishida asked him to write his name on a blank receipt. This receipt is believed to have been filled out later by someone else and attached to the report as the man's receipt.
A woman in her 80s listed as a vehicle campaign worker explained, "I served tea and applied stickers, but I'm too old to work in a vehicle campaign." She said she did not receive any compensation and was unaware that her name was used. However, around October 2024, Nishida brought her a cash-filled brown envelope, asking her to "keep it."
Another woman in her 80s listed as an office staff member said the receipt attached to the report was not in her handwriting. She added, "In the first place, the room number of my home address is incorrect." She also received cash, thought to be compensation, from Nishida around October 2024.
The Public Offices Election Act prohibits intentionally making false entries in reports.
Nishida's side submitted corrections to the prefectural election administration committee by June 18, stating that there was no expenditure of 790,000 yen to the nine individuals. Upon a Mainichi Shimbun inquiry, they explained, "Volunteers were involved in the report's creation and misunderstood the reference format, leading to the incorrect entries of compensation payments. We recognize there was no accounting issue or illegality. We will strive to prevent such occurrences in the future."
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