Hatoyama's mom gave sons billions?

The political funds scandal involving Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and his mother has spread to his brother, Kunio, who also apparently received vast sums from her.

Sources said Wednesday that Kunio Hatoyama, a Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker who held Cabinet minister portfolios, received some of the ¥3.6 billion that was withdrawn from bank accounts registered in the name of his 87-year-old mother from 2003 to 2008.

Yukio Hatoyama, president of the Democratic Party of Japan, was reported to have received a total of ¥900 million over the five years to 2008 and some of the money may have been recorded as donations from fictitious donors in his political funds report.

Kunio Hatoyama is thought to have received about the same amount as the prime minister, and the latest findings suggest the total amount given to the Hatoyama brothers is likely to reach roughly ¥2 billion, according to the sources.

Other sources familiar with Yukio Hatoyama's accounting claimed, as reported earlier, that the money provided to him constituted "loans" and was thus not subject to the gift tax.

But unless legitimate loan documents are found, tax authorities could automatically recognize funds provided from a parent to a child as a "gift."

According to experts, the gift tax can range between 10 percent to 50 percent on amounts of ¥1.1 million or more received per year.

LDP executives are already claiming Yukio Hatoyama may have failed to pay hefty gift taxes for the funds reportedly transferred to him from his mother's bank account.

The funding for the two brothers apparently started after Yukio Hatoyama's former secretary, who was in charge of accounting for his political funds, requested around 2002 that donations be made from an organization involving Hatoyama's mother, the earlier sources said.

Kunio Hatoyama's office declined comment on the allegation.

It was separately reported that prosecutors at present are leaning toward not questioning the prime minister over the irregularities in his political funding reports.

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office instead intends to ask Hatoyama, who has denied involvement in any funds misuse, to give a full accounting of the case in a written statement, the sources said. Prosecutors feel the statement is necessary because a complaint has been filed against the prime minister and because he is obliged to select and oversee his chief accountant.

They suspect that more than ¥300 million may have been falsely declared in Hatoyama's fundraising reports and that his mother may have been the source of some of the funds.

The prosecutors have apparently also decided not to question the mother, because the investigation has yet to provide sufficient evidence that would stick against her pertaining to illegal contributions, the sources said.

DPJ officials said Tuesday that the mother, Yasuko, the elder daughter of the founder of Bridgestone Tire Co., will be hospitalized Wednesday for eye treatment.