The ruling tripartite coalition showed signs of a rift Sunday after voicing conflicting views about how the Foreign Ministry's secret funds should be allocated in the future.
On a TV talk show, Tetsuzo Fuyushiba, secretary general of the New Komeito party, said thought should be given to reducing the funds. Disagreeing with him were Takeshi Noda, secretary general of the New Conservative Party, and Koji Omi, acting secretary general of the dominant Liberal Democratic Party. The debate concerned last month's discovery that a 55-year-old logistics official working for the ministry in the prime minister's secretariat may have embezzled at least 54 million yen from the funds for personal use, including a condominium and racehorses, between 1993 and 1999.
"A revelation that a huge amount of money was spent in the wrong way encourages us to overhaul it," Fuyushiba said, stressing the scandal "can lead to large-scale criminal cases." New Komeito, the second-largest coalition force, holds 31 of 480 seats in the House of Representatives.