Prosecutors probe Japan PM's fund scandal

03 October 2009 1610 hrs

TOKYO: Prosecutors have launched investigations into a political donation scandal against Japan's new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, a local daily reported on Saturday.

Hatoyama, who was sworn in last month, admitted to keeping sloppy accounts for his fundraising body in June, which reported a donors' list including the names of dead people and those who had denied giving money.

Tokyo prosecutors have started hearings with the people on the donors' list, the Yomiuri daily said, without citing sources.

Hatoyama said his former accountant was solely responsible for the problem, in which a total of 21 million yen (220,000 dollars) had been recorded incorrectly since 2005.

But the case has remained an Achilles heel for the politician even after his centre-left Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) took office with the new cabinet enjoying more than 70 per cent of public support.

The Liberal Democratic Party, which was ousted by the DPJ, has attacked Hatoyama, criticising him for making false reports on political donations.

DPJ's Ichiro Ozawa, Hatoyama's predecessor as the party leader, has resigned after being accused of accepting illegal donations in return for public works contracts.

- AFP/so