Takeshita Admits Japan Firm Helped Fund-Raising Efforts

Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita admitted Friday that the company involved in an insider stock scandal bought more than $150,000 worth of tickets to one of his fund-raising events two years ago.

Takeshita’s comments came as the first conviction was announced in the case that has embarrassed the top ranks of political and business leaders for nine months. A former executive of the company was given an 18-month suspended sentence for trying to bribe a legislator.

Takeshita’s acknowledgement of what amounted to a large political donation from the Recruit Co., an employee-services conglomerate, is certain to increase demands that he resign.

“I have confirmed there was a purchase of tickets for the fund-raising party,” the prime minister said in response to questions from a Socialist member in a parliamentary budget committee meeting.

He also said the 20 million yen (about $151,000) Recruit Co. paid for tickets to the party in May, 1987, was “slightly excessive,” but he would not elaborate.

Such gatherings of fellow politicians and business leaders are common in Japan, where politics and business are closely related. They are especially popular with the governing Liberal Democrats as a way around laws restricting contributions.

Corporations often buy large numbers of tickets, but it is “quite unusual for one company to buy 20 million yen worth of tickets at once,” Junichiro Koizumi, the health and welfare minister, told reporters Friday.

Whether the Recruit purchases would be considered outright donations and thus subject to restrictions was not clear immediately.

An official of the Home Ministry, which regulates political contributions, said the purchases would be legal “as long as the price of each ticket is within the range of common sense and the number of tickets purchased is within a reasonable limit that a company can possibly use.”

Recruit, whose extensive financial links with politicians are under government investigation, bought at least $454,000 worth of tickets to fund-raising parties of Takeshita and 13 other politicians in 1986-88.

Recent polls indicate public support for Takeshita has fallen to 9%, the lowest for a postwar premier.