Koichi Kato (LDP) - Scandals

Scandals

Like many Japanese politicians, Kato has been involved in several scandals. He was implicated in the Recruit scandal in the late 1980s, tarnishing his reputation for several years. In 2002 he was the centre of a major scandal involving tax evasion, bribery and misuse of political funds.　His secretary Saburo Sato had been charging a "Kato Consumption Tax" to companies wanting access to Kato while seeking public contracts. Sato had also failed to declare ￥100 million in taxes. While Kato denied any knowledge of the affair, few believed that such widespread corruption could have occurred in his office without his approval. It was later revealed that he had been using funds earmarked for political use to pay the rent on his Tokyo apartment. Faced with this evidence, Kato acquiesced to demands for his resignation. In November 2003 he made his return to the Diet, having retreated from politics long enough for the scandal to die down.