TOKYO, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida distributed gift vouchers to lawmakers from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) while in office, fueling speculation that gift-giving is a common practice among lawmakers in power, local media reported.

Kishida's staff delivered vouchers worth 100,000 yen (about 670 U.S. dollars) each to LDP lawmakers who, at the time, served as parliamentary vice ministers ahead of a meal gathering at the prime minister's official residence on Dec. 20, 2022, Kyodo News reported Wednesday, citing LDP sources.

Kishida's office told Kyodo News, "We always followed the law," without providing further details.

The revelation comes at a time when Kishida's successor, incumbent Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, has been under fire for his own distribution of vouchers worth 100,000 yen each to new LDP lawmakers.

Ishiba reiterated Wednesday that the vouchers his office distributed ahead of a March 3 dinner meeting at the prime minister's official residence were intended as tokens of appreciation and not meant to support political activities, denying that the move was illegal.

Japan's political funds control law bans donations by individuals to politicians for the purpose of political activities.

Meanwhile, multiple LDP lawmakers and other sources said they also received vouchers worth 50,000 or 100,000 yen at meal gatherings during the tenure of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who had been in office from 2012 to 2020, following a brief term from 2006 to 2007, the report said.

The office of another former prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, Abe's immediate successor, said that "souvenirs" were distributed, but no laws were broken.

Opposition party lawmakers are turning up the heat on Ishiba and the LDP as those instances indicate that Japanese prime ministers have regularly distributed money and goods to LDP lawmakers.

Leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan Yoshihiko Noda, who served as prime minister between 2011 and 2012, told reporters he had "never" given out vouchers.

"This looks to be an issue with the LDP's political culture. It is shaping up to be a deep-rooted structural one," Noda told reporters. Enditem

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