Not a foot in the door…Former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, the “boss” of the Abe faction, came to a top-rated steak restaurant in Ginza at 40,000 yen per person.

While the Nagatacho area was rocked by a scandal involving party ticket slush funds from LDP Seiwa-kai (Abe Faction) lawmakers, the man who once served as chairman of the Seiwa-kai was enjoying elegant dinners day after day.

On December 6, former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, 86, emerged from a luxury steak restaurant in Ginza, where the price was no less than 40,000 yen per person. He walked out the front door of the restaurant in a wheelchair, and was held on either side by a strong man who took his time to get into the car that would pick him up. His footing was unsteady from start to finish.

In late November, he wrote a letter to someone very close to him, telling them that he and his wife had entered a nursing home and would live out the rest of their lives in peace. It seems that he told them that he and his wife had moved into a nursing home and would live out the rest of their lives in peace. I hear that he has moved out of his office and home and has begun his final activities.

Mr. Mori has been undergoing dialysis treatment for the past several years due to his declining kidney function. He seems to respond to the dialysis treatment quite well, and he has said, “After dialysis, I feel exhausted. I was surprised to hear that he seems to be actively attending evening meetings these days.

The day before this, on the evening of December 5, former Prime Minister Mori had dinner with Abe Faction leaders, including Hiroshige Seko, 61, Secretary General of the House of Councilors, and Yasutoshi Nishimura, 61, Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry. When asked by Renho, 56, a member of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), at the Budget Committee of the House of Councillors on August 8 whether he had “backstabbed” them at these dinners, Nishimura countered, “I did not backstab them.

He replied, “Common sense would dictate that if the members had gathered there, the only thing they would have talked about would be the slush fund issue. At the end of the extraordinary session of the Diet, secretaries of Abe faction members were summoned to the Hotel New Otani one after another for questioning by the prosecutors.

The problem that has surfaced in the party’s largest faction, which has 99 members, is expected to spread further. A reporter in charge of judicial affairs for a national newspaper reveals how the prosecutors are putting their efforts into the case.

The special investigators have already called in 50 experienced prosecutors and clerks from around the country to prepare for the hearing of the lawmakers. It seems that they are seriously trying to remove the badges of the lawmakers, believing that they have until late January next year, when the extraordinary Diet session ends and the ordinary Diet session begins, to win the case. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno (61), National Diet Committee Chairman Tsuyoshi Takaki (67), former Olympics Minister Seiko Hashimoto (59), and House of Councilors Secretary-General Seko are reported to have told secretaries that they handled kickbacks under the direction of Diet members. In particular, Matsuno and Takagi, both of whom served as factional secretary-general at the time, are not subject to the statute of limitations of the Political Funds Control Law. These two would be the most likely targets.”

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (66) moved swiftly after the slush fund issue came to light. He decided to replace a total of nine Abe cabinet ministers and deputy ministers, a move designed to cut the Abe faction out of the center of his administration. Journalist Tetsuo Suzuki said, “The Abe faction will not be able to hold its own party for the time being.

The Abe faction will have to refrain from holding parties for the time being. That would mean they would lose their income. If they cannot hold posts or receive money for election support, there is no merit in being a member of the faction. The faction may even collapse, as middle-ranking and younger members may leave.

Former Prime Minister Mori, who made his presence felt in the Abe faction’s transition to a new structure in August of this year, has remained silent on the slush fund issue. What does this mean?

He is probably holding his breath to avoid any blame being placed on him. The famous “Prime Minister Speaks” column in the Hokkoku Shimbun, which was a series of outspoken articles, ended with the November 26 edition. If he submits a doctor’s certificate, it will be difficult for the special investigators to question him frequently. Some of the heavyweight members of the faction say, “It was Mr. Mori who systematized the scheme to create the slush fund. It is reasonable to assume that he sensed that the prosecutors were on the move and made the first move.

If this is the case, the dinners with Mori-san were his last supper. With the departure of the “boss,” who has wielded power even after his retirement from politics, the largest faction in the party is on the verge of collapse.

From the December 29, 2023 issue of FRIDAY