TOKYO -- Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has approached four legislators who left the party or ran without its endorsement due to a slush funds scandal about joining party factions in the wake of the Oct. 27 House of Representatives election, senior LDP officials said on Oct. 30.

The four are Hiroshige Seko, former secretary-general for the LDP in the House of Councillors, former Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yasutoshi Nishimura, former Policy Research Council Chairman Koichi Hagiuda, and former reconstruction minister Katsuei Hirasawa, who were all elected on Oct. 27.

Seko left the LDP after being implicated in the scandal linked to party faction fundraising parties, while Nishimura, Hagiuda and Hirasawa, who were also implicated, were forced to run in the lower house election without the LDP's endorsement.

The LDP suffered a severe loss in the election, with the party and its junior coalition partner Komeito together securing only 215 seats in the 465-seat chamber, well below the majority threshold of 233 seats. Over half of those involved in the party's faction slush funds scandal lost their seats.

(Japanese original by Yusuke Kaite, Political News Department)