Japan Innovation Party Rift Over Alleged 5 Million Yen Request to Murakami Seisho
“The Japan Innovation Party’s principle is supposed to be politics without entanglements. However, the party is currently in turmoil over the endorsement of Mr. Otokita, and this conflict continues to affect the party.”
This year’s Upper House election, widely expected to have a campaign period from July 3 to the vote on the 20th, sees ruling and opposition parties focusing all their efforts on endorsing winnable candidates. The Japan Innovation Party has decided to officially endorse Mr. Shun Otokita (41), the former police chief, in the Tokyo electoral district. However, FRIDAY Digital’s investigation has revealed a startling situation unfolding behind the scenes.
Mr. Otokita ran for the Tokyo 1st district seat in last October’s House of Representatives election after switching from the Upper House but failed to win even a proportional representation seat, resulting in a defeat. Despite being the party’s policy chief, Otokita faces persistent opposition from local organizations such as “Tokyo Innovation Party” regarding his endorsement. Amid this tension, a new worrying issue has emerged: prior to the October election, Otokita reportedly received a 5 million yen donation from famous investor Mr. Yoshiaki Murakami (65), who allegedly also asked Otokita to be pushed as the top candidate on the proportional representation list.
An act that denies the party’s own principles
There’s probably no need to explain who Yoshiaki Murakami is. He is a famous investor who once led the “Murakami Fund,” and recently made headlines when an investment company led by his eldest daughter became a major shareholder of Fuji TV. Regarding the suspicion involving such a big name, a source within the Ishin party expressed discomfort as mentioned earlier, and added the following:
“As a party principle, Ishin aims for politics free from entanglements, which is why they have also banned corporate and organizational donations. This case involves an individual donation, but Murakami invests in various companies and wields influence. If it’s true that he donated 5 million yen, it’s strange to claim there are no entanglements. I even think this is an act that denies the foundational principles on which the party stands.”
Amid the spreading rumors, on the night of May 19, the Japan Ishin no Kai held an emergency online meeting attended by more than 50 members, including national lawmakers, Tokyo metropolitan assembly members, ward and city councilors, and heads of Tokyo electoral district branches. The main purpose was to unify support for Otokita’s nomination before the official announcement, but Yuki Ebisawa (51), head of the Tokyo 29th electoral district branch, raised concerns over Otokita’s nomination related to the 5 million yen donation from Murakami.
“Please put my name as number one on the proportional representation list.”
Another insider reluctantly spoke out.
“The meeting became highly contentious. Ebizawa-san sharply criticized, saying, ‘There was a request from Murakami-san, who donated 5 million yen, asking to have his name placed as number one on the proportional representation list to Onkita-san, and Onkita-san was about to comply. That very attitude itself is a form of entanglement.’ The meeting, which started at 8 p.m., continued until 11 p.m., but no consensus was reached. As a result, Tsukasa Abe, the representative of Tokyo Ishin and a member of the House of Representatives (42), who hosted the meeting, directly confirmed the facts with Onkita-san and was scheduled to report the response at an online meeting the following noon.”
According to sources interviewed, Abe reported the following at the online meeting:
“In conclusion, the decision to endorse Onkita remains unchanged, and no proposal for reconsideration will be made. First, it is true that Onkita received a donation from Yoshiaki Murakami. The amount was 5 million yen. However, the basic premise is that this was a personal donation with no expectation of any return.
Next, regarding the background of the attempt to position Murakami as number one on the proportional representation list in the previous House of Representatives election: Murakami has long supported Ishin. On that basis, to raise Ishin’s profile, there was a proposal to leverage his name recognition and have him run as number one on the proportional representation list in the Tokyo electoral district. However, there was no fact of preferential treatment resulting in Murakami running as number one. This was purely a personal relationship, respecting the party’s policy to avoid corporate and organizational donations causing entanglements, and there is no fact that the donation influenced party policy decisions.”
According to insiders who attended the online meeting, in the end, unity around endorsing Onkita was reached under the moderator’s guidance, citing party policy. Actually, that day, from 5 p.m., there was a planned support rally in Shimbashi for Ishin’s leader and Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura (49), so achieving consensus was imperative. Perhaps considering this, no dissenting opinions were voiced by Ebizawa or others who had previously sympathized with him.
Opposition within the party remained
However, many party members still harbor distrust.
“Just because he ultimately wasn’t placed as the top proportional candidate doesn’t make the explanation that party policy wasn’t influenced convincing. That’s exactly why the discussion became so heated. I’m sure many people are still not satisfied,” said one participant of the online meeting.
FRIDAY Digital obtained and reviewed the political funding report for the “House of Councillors Tokyo Electoral District No.1 Branch,” represented by Mr. Otokita. In the 2023 published report, the donor section includes: “January 27, 2022 – Yoshiaki Murakami – Amount: ¥5,000,000.” Since the 2024 report will be released in November, it remains to be seen whether additional donations were made before last year’s lower house election. Furthermore, reviewing the funding report of the “Shun Otokita Support Group” revealed a donation of ¥1.5 million from Murakami on July 30, 2021, as published in 2022. In the 2024 report, another donation of ¥1.5 million was listed under the name of Murakami’s daughter on March 8, 2023.
Just ahead of the pivotal upper house election, Ishin no Kai finds itself in disarray. Is this internal conflict real? FRIDAY Digital sent the party the following questions:
– Was the ¥5 million donation from Yoshiaki Murakami or his family made only once?
– Did Murakami actually request that Mr. Otokita be promoted to the top spot on the proportional list?
– Does officially endorsing Otokita align with party policy?
Their response was as follows:
“We categorically decline donations from corporations or organizations. However, if an individual offers a donation, we accept it in accordance with the law and disclose it publicly as political funding. While we may receive policy suggestions or petitions from donors and supporters, our policies and decisions are never influenced by the presence or absence of donations. Additionally, candidate endorsements are determined through appropriate processes, including those involving the party headquarters.”
FRIDAY also sent Mr. Otokita a formal inquiry regarding the ¥5 million donation from Murakami in January 2022, whether there were additional donations from Murakami or his family, and his thoughts on the internal doubts raised about his candidacy. His response was identical to the party’s:
“We decline all donations from corporations or organizations. However, we accept individual donations according to the law and disclose them as political funds. We may receive policy suggestions or petitions from donors and supporters, but our decisions are not influenced by donations.”
FRIDAY also sought comment from Ms. Ebizawa, who raised concerns during the May 19 online meeting, but received the following response:
“I’m not in a position to speak on the matter, and I sincerely ask for your understanding.”
In addition, a formal inquiry was sent to Mr. Murakami via the Murakami Foundation’s website regarding whether he had requested Otokita be placed at the top of the proportional list. No response was received by the deadline.
Mr. Otokita served as the party’s Policy Research Council Chair and is now an official candidate for Tokyo in the upcoming upper house election. It’s clear that he has a duty to explain not just to the public, but to his own party members, some of whom still question his endorsement. The very purpose and credibility of Nippon Ishin no Kai is now at stake.
Interview and text by： Atsuo Hase PHOTO： Kyodo News
