DPJ's Kumagai sees yen in the Net

In what appears to be the first such attempt in Japan, Hiroshi Kumagai, deputy secretary general of the Democratic Party of Japan, has begun soliciting political donations through the Internet. Kumagai, a veteran Lower House member, said the move is an attempt to secure more funds from individual donors now that corporate donations to lawmakers -- often criticized as being a source of corruption -- were banned in the recent revision of the law controlling political fundraising. The Internet is widely used to solicit and accept donations from voters in the United States. But Kumagai's move is probably the first such attempt in Japan, according to the Home Affairs Ministry. Kumagai sees his attempt as an "experiment" and plans to discuss the results with younger-generation lawmakers in his party. The move is also apparently meant to portray the DPJ as a "clean" party that will no longer depend on corporate donations. People willing to make donations to him will be asked for their names, e-mail addresses and donation amounts; actual donations will be made by bank transfers. Kumagai says he will consider accepting donations made with credit cards in the future. Late last year, the Diet passed an amendment to the fundraising control law to ban donations to individual lawmakers from businesses and other organizations beginning Jan. 1. They can now make donations only to political parties. But the new law allows for local branch offices of a party, as well as a party's central headquarters, to receive corporate donations. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party is already moving to exploit this loophole by increasing the number of offices. What's more, under the current single-seat constituency system, an LDP branch in a certain electoral district is effectively controlled by the incumbent lawmaker in the constituency. Observers say donations to these branches, therefore, are effectively donations to individual politicians. The DPJ, the largest opposition force, is proposing placing a limit on the number of local party branches.