Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Wednesday defended her handing out of gift catalogs to all Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers elected in the Feb. 8 general election, arguing it was in line with the law despite criticism from opposition lawmakers.
Takaichi revealed that she had distributed the gift catalogs as a celebratory gesture to 315 fellow LDP Lower House lawmakers at a cost of about ?30,000 ($192) per person ¡ª for a total of roughly ?9.45 million. The expense was covered by the LDP¡¯s Nara No. 2 district branch, which she heads.
¡°I donated the gifts to express my appreciation for their hard-fought election victories and to support their future work as lawmakers,¡± Takaichi said during questioning in the Upper House by Masayo Tanabu of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan.
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