Kansai Electric repeatedly gave donations to nuclear plant host town

It's called the "slush fund". You know, the one where you dont need to supply any receipts for whatever it is you used the money for!

This is how Japan works. Grafting and brown paper bags full of cash are the norm. TIJ!

Its called bribery and influence peddling since (at least) 1970! Probably forever

"Donations"

"Gift Scandals"

"Conservative Group"

Japan's Pravda really has a way with its euphemisms.

Being a politician in Japan is good business. Free money..not taxed..and the government gives it a blind eye. Maybe we just need to support the Nippon Kaigi.

Takahama city officials said they do not know how contributions were spent 

No, of course they don't. Nobody ever saw a thing.

J-politics as usual. Graft, brown envelopes and lies.

I'll bet the hostess clubs in that neck of the woods have been doing a roaring trade since 1970.

It's so funny, saying the truth about how corrupt Japan's business, politics,environment, is "Japan bashing" here we have Albert by accident a perfect example of the systemic corruption inherent to the system. 1970 was 50 odd years ago so it's obviously an ingrained system of corruption. But apparently you should not talk about it. Usually.

Donations?

"Donations" that ended up in private hands.

I think I'll get my company to stop paying me a salary and donate the money to me instead. I'll make sure it doesn't speak about specific contributions "out of consideration for relations with recipients".

This is a no-news. All power companies (and construction companies and .... whatever companies) have been doing this kind of corruption essentially since ever. This is how this country operates. It's a cast of people benefiting each other in a similar way mafia operates.

It does tell us though why and how people have accepted nuclear power and the siting of an NPP in their community. Not goodwill, nor informed understanding of its safety, no, nothing like that.

They were made an off they could not refuse, again and again.

Look, people. Donations are the way of the world. If we somehow got rid of them, politicians and towns would be that much poorer for it, and the decisions not necessarily any better.

Kazuaki Shimazaki - Look, people. Donations are the way of the world. If we somehow got rid of them, politicians and towns would be that much poorer for it, and the decisions not necessarily any better

Look Kazuaki! ‘Donations’ made to politicians by private companies to earn favors are bribes, which are illegal all over the woorld.

PS Off = offer in 2 posts above @ 11:40 am JST.

Not that it makes much difference to the status quo, but it's great that we can generally say what we think here.

reports such donations in its securities reports as miscellaneous expenditures.

4.3 billion Yen - that's a lot of miscellaneous donations - any other company would be grilled if it was 4.3 million Yen - a 1,000 times less!

@Do the hustleToday 12:55 pm JST

Look Kazuaki! ‘Donations’ made to politicians by private companies to earn favors are bribes, which are illegal all over the woorld.

You might not like this, but I think there is still a worthwhile line between a "donation" or "gift" and a "bribe". There is no such thing as a "donation" or "gift" that does not seek at least some favorability for oneself, but if it is not accompanied by concrete demands (only an abstract request to "improve relationships"), it is still a gift/donation and not a bribe.

Further, a distinction should be made between requests that are clearly illegal or unjust, and those that involve just one of many possible choices to be chosen, or one that just acts as a "final decider".

You might consider an alternative world where this is banned. But consider:

For example, I and you are in the queue for public housing and we are about the same place in the queue. I "donate" a computer to the disposal of the local authorities and I got the apartment first. Did I bribe them? Well, I never said the computer and housing were linked. Besides, if this is completely impermissible, it's not like decision making would improve (since we are equal on the other factors) - the main difference is that the town would be short a computer.

So should we still lose our lunch over a donation?

“do not know how contributions were spent”. I can answer that without investigating the paper trail. Back pockets!

The difference between a donation and a bribe is primarily transparency. What the purpose and its legal status also comes in to it but transparent publicly accountable transactions usually compliant of necessity.

I'm shocked to hear that a Japanese company was bribing Japanese politicians. SHOCKED!!!

The city has recorded the money as "donations for business related to regional promotion" or "donations for soil reclamation" on its books

I'm a little confused. If the money is on the books, is it really an issue? I think it's quite normal for developers of any kind of project to offer benefits to the local community. While I know brown envelopes may also be involved, that doesn't seem to be what is being reported here.

@expat,

The hell of it is that their "leaders" sold them out to the power companies

Do you have any more info? I'm aware of such things happening in more urban locations. But I wasn't aware that rural "outcast designations" from the Meiji area were still an issue.