Japan’s life assurers assisted with politicians’ election campaigns

JAPAN’S four leading life assurers helped the election campaigns of at least 66 members of the Diet during the 2009 election campaign, reports Asahi Shimbun. Dai-ichi Life, Nippon Life, Meiji Yasuda Life and Sumitomo Life helped 58 members of the Liberal Democratic Party, six from the Democratic Party of Japan, one from New Komeito and two independents, including members of the financial affairs committee of both houses, the report claimed, citing unnamed sources. The four insurers had previously been revealed to have “wined and dined” 62 legislators and aides between 2006 and 2010 in an apparent attempt to ameliorate governmental punishment for the assurers’ previous scandal, when more than ¥1trn ($11.5bn) in benefits went unpaid. However, such support in Japan would not be considered very unusual, one source claimed.