New Issues of Politics and Money Emerge as Government Secret Funds Flow to Cabinet Office Staff Funded by Taxes

In the previous article titled, “Former Driver Reveals Government Secret Funds Used as Special Allowances for Cabinet Office Chauffeur Staff,” former driver Shokichi Ishikawa (pseudonym), who worked as a driver for ministers and vice ministers at the Cabinet Office, confessed that he had received cash funded by government secret funds (Cabinet Office Confidential Funds) as a “special allowance” from the Chief Cabinet Secretary he was responsible for driving.

As the LDP is rocked by the issue of slush funds from factional party ticket income, new allegations of “politics and money” have surfaced.

Read the first part of the article , “[Former Driver Confesses Determination] Secret Secretariat Funds Were Used as ‘Special Allowance’ for ‘Cabinet Office’ Transportation Staff! reads as follows.

“Only the Chief Cabinet Secretary’s drivers received the ‘special allowance’ every month. However, for someone as prominent as former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, it was a different story. He handed over 30,000 yen in cash every month as a tip. Of course, no receipt was needed. It’s possible that the funds came from the faction’s party funds or perhaps from correspondence expenses,” said Ishikawa.

Correspondence expenses refer to “document communication transportation and accommodation expenses.” Although it has now been renamed “research, publicity, and accommodation expenses,” it is currently provided tax-free at 1 million yen per month to all national legislators, with no obligation to disclose usage or provide receipts.

“Evening meetings often extend into the late night, so Chief Cabinet Secretary drivers have almost no private life. It was avoided by drivers with young children. But it is also true that it was lucrative. Including salary, overtime, and confidential funds, monthly income could approach 1 million yen,” said Ishikawa.

The Chief Cabinet Secretary’s drivers would board a black Alphard around 7 a.m. each morning at the parking lot on the second floor of the Prime Minister’s residence, pick up the security personnel at the Government Building No. 2, and head to the Akasaka residence or their private home. Shokichi Ishikawa served as a driver for four Chief Cabinet Secretaries: Yoshihide Suga (75), Katsunobu Kato (68), Hirokazu Matsuno (61), and Yoshimasa Hayashi (63).

“Suga would visit three meetings every night, so by the time he was dropped off at the Akasaka residence and I returned to the Cabinet Office parking lot, it was already the next day. Despite never drinking alcohol, he liked to gather information, meeting people every night and working without a day off even on weekends. Among fellow drivers, there were concerns about whether this was sustainable due to his intense working style. He was impatient and would reprimand us if we didn’t take the shortest route. Drivers who made mistakes twice in a row were replaced within just two weeks of his appointment. He had a reputation for being very strict about work,” Ishikawa said.

The three Chief Cabinet Secretaries who followed him are generally perceived as having a more gentle demeanor, Ishikawa continued.

“Kato is a friendly person. He treats both drivers and security personnel with respect and is straightforward. There are no downsides to him; if I had to mention something, it would be that his home is in Shibuya Ward, which is somewhat distant from the Prime Minister’s residence, and that he had an early start in the morning. He was considerate, even giving personal tips to drivers who had children.

I have no unpleasant memories of Matsuno either. Unlike Suga, he didn’t have to attend back-to-back meetings, and we could return to the Prime Minister’s residence by around 10 or 11 p.m. The time constraints were not too long, so he was popular among drivers. However, compared to Suga’s work style, there were doubts about whether he was fully effective as Chief Cabinet Secretary. The current Chief Cabinet Secretary, Hayashi, likes to drink, and meetings often go past midnight. While the previous Chief Cabinet Secretaries held meetings purely for information gathering, Hayashi seems to have private meetings as well.”

Confidential funds are reportedly stored in the Chief Cabinet Secretary’s office safe, amounting to 80 million to 100 million yen, with officials said to replenish the amount as it decreases.

“I’ve heard that the replenishment is done by the Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary, which is one position below the Director-General. The Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary also has a driver, but they haven’t been to the Bank of Japan or any private banks. It’s unclear where the money is coming from,” said Ishikawa.

It is truly a magic mallet, but as previously mentioned, the source of these funds is the taxes paid by the public. While social insurance premiums are being raised and the burden on citizens continues to increase, there is no visible effort from politicians to share the pain.

Takeo Kawamura (81), who served as Chief Cabinet Secretary during the Taro Aso administration, said, “In my time, special allowances were paid out of pocket money.” He then explained the use of confidential funds.

“Whether it contributes to national interests is one criterion. If you want to thank the drivers and security personnel, it should be done with pocket money. The source of reward funds is taxes. If a system to disclose the usage after a certain period is not established, it will continue to be used arbitrarily.”

When asked by the Cabinet Office’s General Affairs Bureau’s advisor, “Is it true that some of the Cabinet Office’s confidential funds are paid to drivers and security personnel?” the response was as follows:

“The Chief Cabinet Secretary is responsible for using the funds strictly and effectively. Due to confidentiality issues, we refrain from answering specific details about their use.”

When a similar question was asked to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s Public Relations Division, the response was, “We are not aware of the matter.”

Despite the huge uproar over illicit funds, most politicians were not held accountable and escaped with explanations that they were used for political activities, without facing additional tax assessments.

The darkness of politics and money is bottomless.