Corporate donations remain sticky point in political reform talks

As discussions over political reform intensify ahead of Thursday’s opening of the next session of parliament, the handling of corporate donations is poised to emerge as a major battleground between the parties.

While they might be able to find middle ground over other items in the agenda, deep-seated bipartisan divisions over the handling of corporate donations suggest the road to a compromise on this topic before the end of the year remains difficult at best.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party — weakened after it lost its majority in the Lower House in the Oct. 27 general election — has displayed strong resistance toward long-standing opposition calls to abolish the endowments. The party has long maintained that an abolition of corporate donations would significantly curtail the political freedom of the private sector.