TOKYO (Reuters) – Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may be summoned to parliament for questioning by lawmakers amid a row over a possible violation of election funding laws, several government and ruling party sources told Reuters on Thursday.
The ruling bloc is arranging to summon Abe on Friday for questioning at steering committees, the sources said on condition of anonymity. It is also considering whether to put the sessions online to open them to the public, they said.
Abe, who stepped down citing ill health in September, is under fire on suspicion his office helped cover the costs of dinner parties for supporters, a possible violation of funding laws that he denied when questioned in parliament last year.
Prosecutors have been building a case against Abe’s secretary over unreported funds involving as much as 40 million yen ($386,210) and had asked Abe to appear for voluntary questioning about the issue, domestic media reported this month.
($1 = 103.5700 yen)
(Reporting by Yoshifumi Takemoto; writing by Tetsushi Kajimoto; editing by Richard Pullin)
