Japan's LDP Reprimands Former PM Ishiba and Three Others Over Tax-Cut Vote Walkout: First Reprimand of a Former Party President
TOKYO — Japan's Liberal Democratic Party decided on November 9 to reprimand former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and three other lawmakers. The four walked out of the House of Representatives plenary session on November 6, just before a vote on the food consumption-tax cut bill, and did not vote in favor. LDP Secretary-General Shunichi Suzuki announced the decision after a meeting of party executives and said the four had been notified.
The other three are former election strategy chief Yuko Obuchi, former Economic Planning Agency chief Hajime Funada and former Justice Minister Yoshihisa Furukawa. The party said it was the first time a former party president had been disciplined under party rules. A reprimand is the second-lightest of the eight sanctions in the party's rules and is imposed by the secretary-general.
Suzuki said the walkout could not be overlooked from the standpoint of party unity. After the vote, the party asked the four to explain the circumstances and their reasons in writing by noon on November 9. Ishiba wrote that the consumption tax funds social security and that cutting it without a clear replacement revenue source was a serious problem, a concern he also voiced to reporters after the vote.
The bill passed the lower house on November 6 with support from the ruling parties and others. It would cut the food consumption tax rate from 8% to 1% for two years starting in April 2027, and deliberations in the House of Councillors are set to begin on November 11.
(Source: Liberal Democratic Party of Japan)
Source: Liberal Democratic Party of Japan
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：日本前首相石破茂官方肖像（2024年，日本政府，CC BY 4.0），经Wikimedia Commons，本站档案图复用。 / Photo: Official portrait of former Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (2024, Government of Japan, CC BY 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons, GSM archive reuse.
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