The government is considering halving the number of guests invited to its annual cherry-blossom viewing event as part of a broad review amid allegations that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has used the publicly funded gathering for his own benefit, officials said Thursday.

To address growing criticism about the yearly event held since 1952 to honor people such as athletes and celebrities for their accomplishments, the government may reduce its size by half from around 18,000 this year, according to the officials.

Before the allegations came to light, the government had a rough target of 10,000 guests for the event. Since Abe returned to power in 2012, the number of those invited and the amount of government spending have been increasing.

"It would be desirable to bring it down to a size that's much smaller than what the public would feel appropriate," a government official said.

Abe has already decided to cancel next year's gathering for cherry-blossom viewing as the opposition forces allege his supporters were among those invited, raising questions about the use of taxpayers' money.

(April 2019)

The decades-old event, held at Tokyo's Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, will resume after the government conducts a comprehensive review covering what the opposition forces have viewed as opaque criteria for selecting guests, the budget and the number of invitees.

Speaking on Thursday at a press conference, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said he recognizes the need to make the selection process clearer and transparent but that the gathering is important.

"Many foreign guests, including those from embassies, come to the event so it's important from the standpoint of promoting (their understanding of) history, tradition and culture," the top government spokesman said.

Despite the one-time cancelation, opposition party lawmakers are set to look into the allegation that Abe's office in his constituency in the western prefecture of Yamaguchi had solicited supporters wishing to join the government's cherry-blossom viewing event on a package tour to Tokyo.

The opposition bloc now suspects the office collected what they view as a much lower fee than normal when it hosted a dinner party at a well-known Tokyo hotel for supporters traveling to the Japanese capital.

Jun Azumi, the Diet affairs chief for the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, said the office collected 5,000 yen ($46) each from supporters, less than half the amount charged for a party of such scale at the hotel, or 11,000 yen.

"The very big question is how the gap (between the prices) was filled," Azumi said.

Still, Suga, a close aide to Abe, said such a party can be held with a 5,000 yen charge per person and the price is within a reasonable range.

Cherry-blossom viewing is a popular springtime event in Japan. Abe has denied involvement in the guest selection process for the annual event he hosted as the government -- specifically the Cabinet Office and the Cabinet Secretariat -- drew up an invitation list based on recommendations from each ministry and agency.

Suga has revealed it is customary for the secretariat to gather recommendations from the ruling parties and the Cabinet that includes the prime minister, deputy prime minister, as well as chief and deputy chief Cabinet secretaries.

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Abe cancels gov't-funded cherry-blossom viewing event amid criticism