TOKYO - Former Japanese farm minister Kazuo Yana distributed free headbands during a campaign kickoff ceremony in his constituency for the February general election, people with knowledge of the matter said Tuesday, in what could amount to an election law violation.
Japan's public offices election law prohibits the provision of gifts or benefits to voters, even though experts cite the difficulty of drawing a line between what specific behavior should and should not constitute an act of vote-buying.
Multiple participants who attended the ceremony held in Tochigi Prefecture, north of Tokyo, on Jan. 27, testified that they "received a headband, and it was never collected afterward."
Yana's office ordered and prepared the headbands, a source with knowledge of the matter said. Several hundred people attended the event in Otawara, according to participants and people involved in the organization.
In cases when headbands are distributed at election-related events, campaign organizations often collect them after the ceremony concludes.
Yana has faced separate allegations that he violated the election law by providing free shuttle bus rides to supporters during past lower house elections.
A professor has filed a complaint with the Utsunomiya District Public Prosecutors Office over the alleged violation.
Yana resigned as farm minister last October over his controversial remarks hinting at the use of road budget cuts to put pressure on municipalities whose mayors apparently did not support him as well as the free bus-ride issue. The distribution of the headbands may intensify calls for him to be held accountable.
Yana is a House of Representatives member from Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party.
Kyodo News had not received a response from Yana's office as of Tuesday after seeking comment on the headbands. The office said it had forwarded the questions to Yana but that "it is up to him to decide whether he will respond."
The headband had two black kanji characters reading "assured victory," with a red circle between them resembling the Japanese flag. Yana's name did not appear on it, the sources said.
It could not be confirmed whether any of the participants paid for the headbands.
A man from Nasu in Tochigi said that some local lawmakers collect items distributed at campaign events after they conclude. He added that some Yana supporters who received the headbands have been reusing them as hand towels.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said whether headbands constitute gifts prohibited under the election law would be "determined based on the specific facts of the case."
The Tochigi prefectural election commission declined to comment on individual cases but said the distribution of headbands "constitutes a provision of benefits" and that it would advise a candidate to "refrain" from doing so.
Yana lost in his single-seat district in Tochigi in the February election but retained a lower house seat through proportional representation and was named as farm minister in a Cabinet reshuffle in mid-September.
