Money for rebels …
Posted by Matt Dioguardi on September 30th, 2007
A post entry about money and rebels.
Well, somebody’s got some deep pockets, take a look at this:
Hiranuma’s political fund management organization had an income of 311.8 million yen in 2006–the third largest among all Diet members–including income received through party branches.
According to Japan Times that makes the Hiranuma political fund number 2 in all of Japan for 2006.
The Hiranuma mentioned here is none other than Former Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Takeo Hiranuma. Here’s his picture:
Oops, sorry, that’s a picture of his (adoptive) Dad, class A war criminal, promoter of thought police and Manchukuo, Nationalist, and anti-liberal.
OK, forget the picture.
How does Hiranamu spend his money? He spends it on postal rebels:
Postal Rebel 1, Minoru Kiuchi: ¥1,000,000 per month in 2006
Postal Rebel 2, Seiichi Eto: ¥300,000 per month (in 2006?) and 1.3 worth of tickets for his fund-raising parties.
Postal Rebel 3, Yoshiro Kawakami: one time donation of ¥10 million.
Postal Rebel 4, Takeaki Kashimura: ¥1.1 million.
Postal Rebel 5, Ryuji Koizumi: ¥1 million.
Postal Rebel 6, Akira Sato: ¥1 million.
Postal Rebel 7, Koki Kobayashi: ¥800,000.
Postal Rebel 8, Hideo Tanaka: ¥100,000.
Postal Rebel 9, Shin Sakurai: ¥100,000.
Postal Rebel 10, Shozaburo Jimi: ¥100,000.
There’s eight more to add to this list, but you get the picture already …
So I guess he Hiranuma really digs those postal rebels, and they really dig him back. Did I mention Hiranuma was also a postal rebel, perhaps the lead postal rebel? So it goes.
And guess what, looks like Hiranuma will probably be back in the LDP soon, because as we all know now, Junichiro Koizumi is so passé. Economic reform is no longer part of the answer, but the whole problem.
Lovely.
If you just can’t get enough of Takeo Hiranuma, then read this excellent blog entry about how newcomers to the LDP elected to promote Koizumi’s reforms might be pushed off the ticket to make way for the return of the old guard — the dreaded postal rebels …
Links:
Takeo Hiranuma quotes