TOKYO (TR) – Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s newly reshuffled cabinet is already taking on water. Following the abrupt resignation of Agriculture Minister Kazuo Yana over an intimidation scandal, a new financial scandal has surfaced involving a high-ranking justice official accused of pocketing political funds.
Hiroki Abe, Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Justice and the Cabinet Office, is facing allegations of brazenly funneling political donations to himself and his relatives through questionable rental agreements.
Abe, a medical doctor and Shinto priest who serves as a rising star in LDP Vice President Taro Aso’s faction, was recently hand-picked for the vice-minister role. However, financial disclosure reports from his political branch reveal a direct and unapologetic self-enrichment scheme.
According to the reports spanning 2022 to 2024, Abe’s political branch paid 40,000 yen every month directly to “Hiroki Abe” to rent a compact car that he personally owns. Over three years, the payments totaled approximately 1.44 million yen. The branch also footed the bill for the vehicle’s auto insurance and a hired driver.
Funneled substantial cash
Hiroshi Kamiwaki, a professor at Kobe Gakuin University who monitors political funding, pointed out the highly suspicious nature of the arrangement.
“Renting a personally owned car to your own political branch for a fee strongly suggests an intent to funnel political funds back to yourself,” Kamiwaki said. “He could have provided the vehicle for free and recorded it as a deemed donation to balance the books at zero. Instead, he chose to pay himself.”
The 40,000-yen monthly fee aligns perfectly with the estimated monthly loan repayment for the vehicle, suggesting Abe is effectively using political funds to pay off his private car loan. Furthermore, locals report Abe is frequently seen using the chauffeur-driven car while conducting private duties as the chief priest of the Kotohira Shrine in Fukutsu City, Fukuoka Prefecture—a clear violation if political funds are financing private religious work.
The self-dealing extends into real estate. The branch reports paying Abe 14,300 yen a month for personal “parking fees.”
Additionally, Abe’s political branch funneled substantial cash into a local religious corporation, Suwa Shrine. The branch paid the shrine 110,000 yen a month for office rent, alongside monthly rental fees for a laptop (4,400 yen) and a copy machine (6,600 yen).
Deep ties
An investigation into Suwa Shrine revealed deep ties to the lawmaker. The chief priest of Suwa Shrine is Abe’s cousin, who also served as the accountant for Abe’s political branch in 2022.
Adding to the blatant nepotism, Abe himself is the chief priest of the sister Kotohira Shrine, which historically shares the exact same office and phone number as Suwa Shrine. Through this arrangement, Abe has effectively been using political donations to pay office rent, utilities, and equipment fees to his own family’s religious operation.
The embattled lawmaker’s office has yet to provide a public explanation regarding the misappropriation of funds.