DATE=05/07/02

TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT

NUMBER=5-

TITLE=JAPAN/POLITICAL SCANDALS

BYLINE=AMY BICKERS

DATELINE=TOKYO

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: A series of political scandals have damaged the public standing of Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. As V-O-A's Amy Bickers reports from Tokyo, Japan's long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party lost another senior lawmaker last week after allegations that his secretary had taken bribes.

TEXT: Support for Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is close to its lowest level since he took office a year ago, after several members of his party became embroiled in financial scandals.

A recent poll by Japan's Kyodo news agency shows that Mr. Koizumi's approval rating has dropped to 43-percent, down one-and-one half percentage points from March. The survey shows that more 80-percent of the respondents say the Koizumi government will last one year or less.

Many people are disappointed by the government's inability to revive the economy. Political analysts, however, say a series of scandals involving Liberal Democratic Party, or L-D-P, politicians, is doing much of the damage to Mr. Koizumi.

Stephen Reed is a professor of politics at Chuo University in Tokyo.

/// REED ACT ///

Every time another corruption scandal happens, and they happen quite regularly, it hurts the L-D-P. It does not necessarily hurt the prospect for reform because it is one of those things Mr. Koizumi is supposed to be changing. But it hurts the L-D-P in general.

/// ACT END ///

Three scandals have hit the party since January. L-D-P stalwart Muneo Suzuki was forced to leave the party over allegations that he meddled in the awarding of government aid projects.

He denies any wrongdoing.

Koichi Kato, a former L-D-P secretary-general, quit the party and Parliament over allegations he misused public funds and after a former aide was arrested on tax evasion charges. Mr. Kato was a long-time ally of the prime minister.

Mr. Kato denies any involvement in the scandals but says he stepped down to take responsibility.

Most recently, Yutaka Inoue (prono: IN-OH-WAY), a former speaker of the Upper House, resigned from Parliament last week to take responsibility for a former aide's alleged involvement in a bribery scandal.

Mr. Inoue says he had no role in the matter but he resigned because he failed to oversee his aide's actions.

Zenichiro Tanaka is a professor of politics at Tokyo Kogyo University.

He says that Mr. Koizumi's apparent failure to curb excesses by members of his party could have long-term consequences.

/// TANAKA ACT IN JAPANESE, FADE ///

He says that people in Japan generally have given up hope in politicians. He adds that the L-D-P's support is weakening and if more scandals arise, he thinks public approval will drop further.

Voters have already given the L-D-P a taste of their disgust. They handed the party an unexpected defeat in a by-election last month in Niigata prefecture, a former L-D-P stronghold. The party also lost a governor's race in southern Japan. The L-D-P has long dominated Japanese politics and for most of the past 50 years, it has held the prime minister's post.

/// FIRST VOX POP IN JAPANESE, FADE ///

One woman in Tokyo says she is strongly disappointed with Japan's tainted political system. She says there are no more clean politicians.

/// SECOND VOX POP IN JAPANESE, FADE ///

Another woman says that all scandals should be exposed. She hopes that doing so will help reform politicians' consciences.

Mr. Koizumi rose to power with a pledge to develop a new style of politics after years in which politicians, bureaucrats and business owners quietly decided government policy.

He has made good on his promise to cut spending on public works, widely considered a source of graft. But voters are increasingly unsure of Mr. Koizumi's pledge to free the L-D-P of the vested interests that have contributed to countless scandals.

The opposition has not come out of the recent scandals significantly better than the L-D-P. A lawmaker from the opposition Socialist Party, Kiyomi Tsujimoto, resigned last month after admitting she misused public funds intended for an aide's salary. (SIGNED)

NEB/HK/AB/KPD