Nobuteru Ishihara

Shortly after his appointment as special adviser to the Kishida Cabinet, the press revealed that a local LDP branch headed by Ishihara had received a public subsidy intended to preserve employment during the pandemic. Although the assistance was legally available, a political organisation's use of an emergency scheme triggered major controversy. Ishihara resigned from his government post and the branch repaid 608,159 yen.

State of the evidence

Payment, ethical criticism, repayment and resignation documented

Legal status — source text

No personal illegality established; the subsidy was available under the applicable rules.

Attribution

Political responsibility as head of the local branch receiving the subsidy and as Cabinet adviser

As Environment Minister, Ishihara said that negotiations with Fukushima communities over interim storage facilities would "ultimately" be resolved through money. The remark was considered insensitive towards displaced people and affected communities.

State of the evidence

Statement, retraction and apology documented

Legal status — source text

No legal proceedings

Attribution

Direct personal responsibility as Environment Minister

During the LDP leadership campaign, Ishihara used the derogatory internet term "namapo" to refer to welfare benefits and, in a broader discussion about social security costs, raised the question of "dignified death". The combination prompted criticism accusing him of insensitivity towards welfare recipients and older people.

State of the evidence

Statements and public controversy documented

Legal status — source text

No legal proceedings

Attribution

Direct personal responsibility

During the LDP leadership campaign, Ishihara discussed the need for a radioactive waste disposal site and used the word "Satyam"—a name associated with the Aum Shinrikyo cult—when referring to Fukushima Daiichi. The comparison provoked outrage in the prefecture.

State of the evidence

Statement documented, followed by an explanation that it was a slip of the tongue

Legal status — source text

No proceedings

Attribution

Direct personal responsibility

At an LDP press conference following the Fukushima disaster, Ishihara said he understood how a disaster of such magnitude could produce "mass hysteria", while criticising the idea of an immediate and simplistic withdrawal from nuclear power. The phrase provoked a strong reaction in a country still profoundly affected by the disaster.

State of the evidence

Public statement documented and heavily criticised

Legal status — source text

No legal proceedings

Attribution

Direct personal responsibility for his remarks

The Japan Dental Federation and related organisations made substantial payments to Nobuteru Ishihara's faction and political branch. In 2004, the opposition claimed that some funds had passed through the LDP's central organisation to conceal the real donor. Ishihara also acknowledged that a payment of 10 million yen had not been properly recorded in a report and had the declaration corrected.

State of the evidence

Donations and corrections to declarations documented; suspicions of circumvention disputed

Legal status — source text

No personal criminal conviction of Ishihara identified in this case

Attribution

Political responsibility for the funding organisations he headed; unlawful intent not established