Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party has been rocked by a fundraising scandal that has led to indictments against eight people and prompted three of its major factions to decide to disband.

Prosecutors in Tokyo indicted the chief treasurers of the Abe and Nikai factions on Friday, but the indictees were not arrested. A former chief treasurer of the Kishida faction received a summary indictment. That means the prosecutors have asked a summary court to impose a fine against him. All the individuals are accused of violating the political funds control law by engaging in false accounting practices.

The prosecutors also indicted Upper House member Ohno Yasutada, but he was not arrested. He is suspected of failing to declare more than 51 million yen, or about 347,000 dollars, in kickbacks that his office received from the Abe faction for selling tickets for fundraisers in excess of his assigned quota.

Tanigawa Yaichi, another Abe faction lawmaker, received a summary indictment. He is suspected of failing to report the more than 43 million yen in kickbacks that his office received.

These scandals have prompted the Kishida, Abe and Nikai factions to announce that they are disbanding.

The LDP's General Council Chairperson, Moriyama Hiroshi, apologized for the scandal when he delivered a speech in western Japan on Saturday. He added that the LDP lawmakers want to regain the trust of the people as soon as possible.

When asked about the disbandment of the three factions, Moriyama said he had no comments to make. But he did note that the decisions of the factions should be honored, as they were made voluntarily.

When asked about the possibility of disbanding the faction bearing his name, which he leads, Moriyama said none of its members has been indicted. He reported that the members want to discuss the matter and make a decision together. He said the members have been monitoring the debate that has begun within the party over how the factions should be handled.

Attention is also focused on whether the Aso, Motegi and Moriyama factions will decide to disband.

Political reform is expected to be the main issue at the upcoming ordinary Diet session, which is scheduled to begin on Friday.

The opposition parties, which have been intensifying their criticism of the LDP, say that the political funds control law should be revised.

They are now working on draft revisions that call for political donations from companies and organizations to be banned. The parties are also eyeing stricter punishments for violations of the law, and they are looking for ways to improve transparency regarding political funds.