Takeshita Admits He Received $950,000 : But Japanese Premier Insists Company Donations Were Legal

Saying he was “keenly aware” of his “political and moral responsibility,” Japanese Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita acknowledged before Parliament on Tuesday that he received nearly $1 million in political donations from the group of companies at the center of a bribery scandal that is shaking his government.

Takeshita calmly rejected calls by the opposition that he resign, however, and said he could not run away from his obligation to enact reforms.

“For the sake of restoring trust in politics, what is most important is to proceed with political reforms and settle the matter legally and politically as soon as possible,” he said.

In a special three-hour session of the lower house budget committee, broadcast live on national television, Takeshita said he received political donations totaling about $950,000--at current exchange rates--from Recruit Co. and three of its affiliates between 1985 and 1987, when he served as finance minister and secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

Recruit made most of the donations by buying tickets to Takeshita’s fund-raising parties, a common technique for Japanese politicians to skirt strict regulations that limit support from corporate donors.

Takeshita said all the contributions were legal. He also insisted that he was not lying last October when he told Parliament he had never received funds from Recruit. The prime minister suggested that he meant to say at the time that he had no memory of receiving such donations.

The $950,000 in donations were in addition to the $197,000 in profits gained by one of Takeshita’s relatives and a political aide who traded in unlisted shares of a Recruit real estate subsidiary, Recruit Cosmos Co., in 1986.

Given Special Privilege

Takeshita reiterated his contention that the two conducted the trades on their own, without his knowledge. They were among scores of influential political figures, government officials and businessmen who were given special privilege to trade in the stock and received windfall profits when the share price soared.

The Tokyo Public Prosecutor’s Office has so far arrested 14 people in the case, including two former top bureaucrats and a leading businessman, alleging that Recruit offered the shares as a means of bribery. No politicians have been arrested, but there are rumors that prosecutors are preparing to indict several members of Parliament soon.

Already three of Takeshita’s Cabinet ministers have resigned in the scandal, two for receiving Recruit donations and a third, former Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa, for failing to fully disclose his involvement in the controversial stock trading.

Takeshita’s remarks Tuesday came after two weeks of mounting controversy over piecemeal disclosures in the news media that he received substantial political funds from Recruit as he prepared to make his bid for the prime minister’s post, which he assumed in October, 1987.

The opposition temporarily suspended its monthlong boycott of the budget committee to hear Takeshita’s explanation, but it vowed to continue pressing the demand that former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone testify before Parliament to clarify his role in the affair.

Takeshita’s popularity in opinion polls continues to plunge, with the most recent surveys showing his support rating below 10%. But political analysts say he is likely to maintain his grip on power for the time being, and possibly serve out his term until November, largely because the ruling party has no viable candidate to replace him.