Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Wednesday defended her handing out of gift catalogs to all Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers elected in the Feb. 8 general election, arguing it was in line with the law despite criticism from opposition lawmakers.

Takaichi revealed that she had distributed the gift catalogs as a celebratory gesture to 315 fellow LDP Lower House lawmakers at a cost of about ?30,000 ($192) per person 〞 for a total of roughly ?9.45 million. The expense was covered by the LDP*s Nara No. 2 district branch, which she heads.

※I donated the gifts to express my appreciation for their hard-fought election victories and to support their future work as lawmakers,§ Takaichi said during questioning in the Upper House by Masayo Tanabu of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan.