Japanese prosecutors made a first arrest on Sunday in connection with the financial fraud scandal that hit Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's party and forced him to replace four ministers last month, local media reported.
According to several Japanese media outlets, including the Jiji agency, Yoshitaka Ikeda, elected to parliament by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (conservative right), is suspected of violating the law on the control of political funds.
Investigators suspect 57-year-old Mr. Ikeda, whose secretary was also arrested, of receiving and failing to declare a total of 48 million yen (about $440,000), Japanese media reported.
Fumio Kishida had to replace four of his ministers in mid-December to put out the fire caused by a huge financial fraud scandal within his party that further weakened it.
Five deputy ministers and other officials who were also affected by the scandal within the PLD led by Mr. Kishida have also left.
Investigators then searched the offices of PLD factions, dozens of members of which, according to the Japanese press, are suspected of failing to declare the equivalent of several million dollars raised through the sale of tickets to fundraising evenings, which the party then used would be donated to them.
The LDP decided to expel Mr. Ikeda following his arrest, said party general secretary Toshimitsu Motegi, quoted by Kyodo Agency.
The elected official arrested last month and the four sacked ministers belong to the PLD's most powerful faction, the faction of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated in 2022.
According to local media, the public prosecutor's office is investigating five of the party's six factions.
Even before this latest scandal, Mr. Kishida's popularity rating was hit by other areas of discontent, including persistent inflation and the decline of the yen, which are weakening household purchasing power despite the recent announcement of a massive new stimulus plan.