Japan's ex-premier Hashimoto allegedly received unreported donation

The arrested former chairman of the Japan Dental Association sent a check for 100 million yen from the coffers of the group's political arm to former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto prior to the 2001 upper house election, investigative sources said Thursday.

The check is considered a political donation from the association's political group to Hashimoto's faction in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, but the money was not listed in the political fund reports of either side, the sources said.

Prosecutors have launched an investigation into the alleged violation of the Political Funds Control Law.

The former chairman, 73-year-old Sadao Usuda, and Hirotake Uchida, 63, the association's former director, gave the check to Hashimoto at a meeting in Tokyo prior to the House of Councillors election in July 2001. Both Usuda and Uchida were served with fresh arrest warrants Thursday for alleged embezzlement.

The dental association was then arranging to have its former chairman So Nakahara stand for reelection to the upper house. The money is suspected to have been given to Hashimoto in exchange for his faction's cooperation in the reelection bid, according to the sources.

Nakahara successfully retained his upper house seat in the election on the LDP's proportional representation list.

The check in question was cashed by a clerical official of the Hashimoto faction and the money was kept in a safe by the faction, the sources said.

The official was quoted by the sources as saying, ''It was my decision not to list the donation on the report.''

Hashimoto, who has strong ties with the group which has around 50,000 members and an annual budget of 1.8 billion yen, told reporters he ''does not know'' about acceptance of the check.

A member of the Hashimoto faction said it has considered the check as a donation and corrected its political funds reports.

Source: Agencies