Fundraising probe reaches Japan Cabinet

TOKYO, March 8 (UPI) -- Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso's Cabinet has been caught up in a widening police probe into illicit political donations, sources said.

Tokyo prosecutors plan to question staffers for a fundraising body set up by Japanese Trade Minister Toshihiro Nikai, unnamed sources told Japan's Kyodo news agency Sunday.

Officials will question Nikai's associates about whether they knew money they accepted from fundraising tickets sold to two political organizations linked to Nishimatsu Construction Co. -- as well as other donations allegedly made by the contractor -- were illegal, the news service reported.

Kyodo's sources say the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office is making the moves based on information provided by former Nishimatsu President Mikio Kunisawa, who is under arrest, charged with breaking the political fundraising laws.