In brief
On November 9 the LDP fined former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and three other members for walking out of a budget vote. The four cited unclear funding for the consumption‑tax cut and submitted written explanations. JapanToday reports Ishiba said the lack of fiscal discipline had not yet been dispelled. This marks the first time the LDP has disciplined a former prime minister under its rules.
On November 9, the Japanese ruling Liberal Democratic Party issued formal warnings to former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and three other lawmakers after they walked out of a House of Representatives session on a consumption‑tax cut bill.
The LDP, according to Xinhua, warned the four – Ishiba, former director‑general Hajime Funada, former Justice Minister Yoshihisa Furukawa, and former LDP Election Strategy Committee Chair Yuko Obuchi – after they left the lower chamber before the vote and did not cast ballots. They submitted written explanations to the party for their walkout, and Ishiba said it would be extremely problematic for Japan to lose consumption‑tax revenue without a clear alternative source.
Separate reports from Kyodo News and the Asahi Shimbun document that this is the first time the LDP has disciplined a former prime minister under party rules, a claim that has not yet been formally confirmed by the LDP itself.
In a related comment, Ishiba told reporters, “Our concerns (about fiscal discipline) have yet to be dispelled.” This statement appeared in a JapanToday interview and echoes his earlier objections to the bill’s funding uncertainties.
