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Minister Arai Regrets Aide Listing Manga as Expenses
posted on by Gia Manry
Not-so-Daily Link of the Day II: Recently appointed State Minister for National Policy Satoshi Arai acknowledged that his defunct political organization booked the cost of manga purchases as official expenses to be paid for with political funds. Arai regrets "that such inappropriate expenses were booked" and claims that an aide "erroneously combined" the receipts for over 30 manga with legitimate receipts and submitted them by mistake.
According to the Asahi Shimbun paper and the Zakzak news source, the manga included five volumes of the Paradise Kiss shōjo manga for 4,495 yen (about US$49.10) and the Kami no Shizuku (Les Gouttes de Dieu/The Drops of God) wine manga.
The purchases came to light in the wake of accusations that Arai misappropriated his organization's status to register an acquaintance's condominium as the primary office of his organization in order to avoid paying rent, although his party, the Democratic Party of Japan, claims that no wrongdoing or illegal activity occurred.
Sources: Japan Times, Xinhuanet
