MIC Revokes 3 Fund Management Designations and Issues 5 Notifications

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) published MIC Notice No. 460 in the Official Gazette dated November 12, 2026, announcing three revocations of designations of fund management organizations based on Article 19, Paragraph 3, Item 1 of the Political Funds Control Act (Act No. 194 of 1948), and five notifications stating that organizations “are no longer fund management organizations” based on Item 2 of the same paragraph. The notice was issued based on the provisions of Article 19-2, Paragraph 1 of the same Act, under the name of Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications, Hayayuki Fujii. In total, it was formally revealed in the Official Gazette that eight political organizations belonging to eight individuals have lost their status as fund management organizations.

Article 19, Paragraph 3 of the Act treats two types of events regarding fund management organizations separately. Item 1 corresponds to the revocation of designation, while Item 2 corresponds to notifications that an organization is no longer a fund management organization. In either case, the information is publicly announced in the Official Gazette in the form of an MIC notice, listing the name of the person who filed the notification, the name of the political organization, and the date of revocation or the date it ceased to be a fund management organization. This notice also follows this standard format and consists of two tables.

3 Organizations Whose Designations Were Revoked: Including Hirohiko Izumida’s Political, Economic, and Disaster Prevention Research Group

The first table lists the three cases where designations were revoked. They are listed in the order of the name of the person who filed the notification, the name of the fund management organization, and the date of revocation.

• Hirohiko Izumida — Fund management organization: Hirohiko Izumida Political, Economic, and Disaster Prevention Research Group; Revocation date: December 31, 2024
• Katsunori Ota — Katsunori Ota Support Association; Revocation date: August 17, 2023
• Ten Saito — Yamakawa Sokuboku no Kai; Revocation date: December 31, 2025

The revocation dates are scattered between August 2023 and December 2025, indicating that they were not necessarily processed collectively at a single point in time. Of the three cases, two (Katsunori Ota Support Association and Yamakawa Sokuboku no Kai) are categorized into different periods—December 31, 2025, and August 17, 2023—while the Hirohiko Izumida Political, Economic, and Disaster Prevention Research Group is dated December 31, 2024. A notable characteristic is that several dates align with the end-of-year/New Year transition.

5 Notifications of Ceasing to be Fund Management Organizations: Concentrated between 2025 and 2026

The second table lists five notifications stating that organizations are no longer fund management organizations. This section shows the name of the person who filed the notification, the name of the fund management organization, and the date it ceased to be a fund management organization.

• Ayaka Otsu — Ayaka Otsu Support Association, April 2, 2026
• Yasumasa Ono — Taishi-kai, July 31, 2025
• Yoshihiro Kawakami — Vision 21, May 31, 2026
• Kiichi Sasaki — Shiki-no-kai, July 21, 2025
• Tamotsu Shiiki — Shiiki-kai, April 28, 2025

Looking at the names, only two take the form of a “support association,” while the majority are organizations with unique names derived from regional names or personal names, such as Taishi-kai, Vision 21, Shiki-no-kai, and Shiiki-kai. The dates for the second category range from April 28, 2025, to May 31, 2026, tending to occur later than the first category, suggesting a situation where the two procedures—the revocation of designation and the notification of withdrawal—are progressing while overlapping in time.

Framework of Official Gazette Public Notices: Political Funds Control Act Article 19 and Article 19-2

This disclosure is part of the information disclosure framework established by the Political Funds Control Act. When events corresponding to the items in Paragraph 3 of Article 19 of the Act occur, the Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications shall publish the details in the Official Gazette based on Paragraph 1 of Article 19-2 of the same Act. By taking the form of a public notice, it is ensured that not only the party subject to the disposition but also the general public can verify the contents.

At the end of the notice, November 12, 2026, is listed as the date of issuance, and the name of the Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications, Hisayuki Fujii, is listed as the issuer. The Official Gazette was distributed on the same date, and the effectiveness of the public notice is judged based on this date.

The designation of a fund management organization is a system that concentrates the collection and expenditure of political funds into a specific organization; therefore, the revocation of such designation or the notification of withdrawal signifies that the relationship between the politician and the fund management organization has been restructured. Among the eight individuals disclosed this time, the fact that several revocation dates span from 2023 to 2025 indicates that current notification and public notice procedures are operated such that they are processed collectively after the fact. For voters, the significance lies in the fact that the names of the support organizations, the names of their representatives, and the cutoff dates can now be cross-referenced in the Official Gazette.

Source: Official Gazette (dated November 12, 2026) Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Notice No. 460, “Revocation of Designation of Fund Management Organizations pursuant to the provisions of Article 19, Paragraph 3, Item 1 of the Political Funds Control Act and Notification of Ceasing to be a Fund Management Organization pursuant to the provisions of the same Paragraph, Item 2,” Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications Hisayuki Fujii. The legal basis is Article 19 and Article 19-2, Paragraph 1 of the Political Funds Control Act (Act No. 194 of 1948).