House of Representatives member Junichiro Koga, expelled from the Democratic Party of Japan for making false academic claims, received 3 million yen in donations from a South Korean resident of Japan, according to his political funds documents.

This may have violated the Political Funds Control Law, which bans accepting political donations from foreigners. It is aimed at preventing foreigners from influencing politics.

Koga released a statement Tuesday saying he would return the money to the donor, claiming he had believed it was from a Japanese national.

According to reports submitted to the Fukuoka Prefecture's election management committee by his two political fund-managing groups, they received 1.5 million yen each in 2001 from the man, who runs a firm in Fukuoka. Koga's home district is in the prefecture.

The reports also show that the man's company donated 1.44 million yen to one of the fund-managing organizations between 1996 and 1999, while the other fund body received a total of 2.54 million yen from the man and his firm between 2000 and 2002 as payment for such items as fundraiser tickets.

According to the man's relatives, he is a second-generation South Korean resident who uses a Japanese name.

"He supported Koga as a friend," one relative said. "It was out of good will, and there was no ill intention. He knew nothing about (the restrictions of) the (political fund) law, and his actions have nothing to do with the point of the law."

On Jan. 29, the DPJ expelled the 45-year-old Koga after it was found he had falsely claimed in documents presented for the November Lower House election that he had graduated from Pepperdine University in California. He is now an independent.