TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Local chapters of Japan's ruling party led by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba received 1.78 billion yen ($12 million) in donations in 2023 from companies and other entities, accounting for most of the roughly 1.9 billion yen among all political parties, a Kyodo News tally showed Friday.

The figure illustrates that while such donations are legal, the Liberal Democratic Party remains highly dependent on them at a time when the country's opposition parties are calling for a ban. Ishiba's LDP is opposed to the idea, rejecting the claims that corporate and other donations have distorted policy-making.

The LDP has come under increasing public scrutiny over how it collects and uses political funds since revelations that some lawmakers had failed to report income from fundraising parties. The scandal cost the LDP and its coalition partner, the Komeito party, their majority in the powerful House of Representatives in an Oct. 27 election.

Ishiba, who now needs opposition support to pass bills and budgets in parliament, has vowed to make political funds more transparent while maintaining that corporate donations are legitimate.

The ruling and opposition camps remain apart over how corporate donations should be treated. Ishiba aims to revise the political funds control law again before the end of the year in a fresh bid to restore public trust.

Under the law, politicians are not allowed to receive donations from companies and other entities, but local party chapters led by them can.

The 1.78 billion yen was collected by local chapters headed by LDP lawmakers, according to fiscal 2023 financial reports filed with the government. Separately, the LDP received 2.33 billion yen from its fund management body, which receives corporate donations on its behalf.

Around 60 local LDP groups received at least 10 million yen, including those led by scandal-hit heavyweights -- former industry minister Yasutoshi Nishimura and former education minister Koichi Hagiuda.

The highest 49 million yen went to an entity headed by former health minister Norihisa Tamura, the records showed.

The corresponding figure for the main opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, meanwhile, was 50.24 million yen. A local group headed by party chief Yoshihiko Noda, who served as Japan's prime minister between 2011 and 2012, reported 3.56 million yen.

Komeito chapters received 6.87 million yen.