Convicted former House of Representatives member Muneo Suzuki said Thursday he received millions of yen in the late 1990s from a major company that was diverted through the Liberal Democratic Party.
Suzuki, who has been sentenced to two years in prison for accepting bribes, falsifying a political funds report and perjury, made the remark at a gathering organized by journalists in Tokyo. He refrained from identifying the donor.
The remarks by the once powerful LDP lawmaker contradict what Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi recently told the Diet -- that he had no knowledge that the LDP, which he heads, allowed diverted donations to be sent to its lawmakers by companies or special lobbies, including the Japan Dental Association.