The scandal-tainted Japan Dental Association gave 10 million yen in political donations last December to a Liberal Democratic Party chapter headed by former transport minister Nobuteru Ishihara, according to the 2003 political funds report released Wednesday by the Tokyo election board.
The report also shows that the Suginami branch of the Tokyo Dental Association gave 1.7 million yen to Ishihara's own political funds management group between October and November 2003.
This brings donations by the two associations to the Ishihara camp last year to 16.2 million yen when including other figures released by the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry.
"We are not aware on what kind of judgment the Japan Dental Association makes its political donations," a representative of Ishihara's office said.
"We would like to decide on what to do with the donations after waiting for the results of (criminal) investigations" related to the group, the representative said.
Ishihara, 47, is serving his fifth term in the Lower House.
The head of the Tokyo Dental Association's Suginami branch at the time was Sadao Usuda, 73, former chairman of the Japan Dental Association.
Usuda is being tried on charges of bribing two members of a health ministry panel to pressure them into raising dentist fees.