Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Hiroaki Tabata registered people as party members without their permission and sought to cover up the misconduct, a person involved in the matter has said.
Tabata, elected from Toyama Prefecture's No. 1 constituency to the House of Representatives, admitted during a news conference Friday night that his office had signed people up for LDP membership without their consent, including employees of two companies that support him.
The lawmaker said that there were 262 inappropriately filed membership registrations, including of people who do not exist. But he denied personal involvement in the practice.
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