The Liberal Democratic Party has moved to discipline former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and three other lawmakers who abstained on a bill to cut the consumption tax, settling the matter in three days to head off further defections before the bill reaches the upper house.
The four left their seats before the vote in the lower house plenary session on the 6th. The bill had been formally approved within the party, and a party decision had bound members to vote in favor.
Criticism came quickly. Policy chief Takayuki Kobayashi said he was "extremely sorry." A former cabinet minister said, "It is unthinkable as the conduct of a former prime minister."
Party leaders demanded written explanations from the four by noon on the 9th. Secretary-General Shunichi Suzuki announced the disciplinary measures at party headquarters that day.
"All four are veterans. They fully understand the responsibility they bear for the effect their actions have," Suzuki said, with a stern expression. The four have raised concerns about securing alternative revenue to offset the tax cut. Suzuki rejected that: "Using that as a reason does not stand to reason."
A four-seat gap in the upper house
The speed reflects alarm in the upper house, where a party official called the coming deliberations the "real climax." The ruling bloc is four seats short of a majority there, and even with the two members of the Japan Conservative Party, which has said it will vote in favor, it still falls short.
Every absence makes passage harder. Upper house party executives have been especially vocal that "leaving the chamber can never be allowed," one senior member said.
The upper house leadership has urged members to get flu vaccinations as part of "steadily stacking up each vote," a mid-ranking lawmaker said. Efforts to build a majority among opposition parties are also under way behind the scenes.
"We cannot pass anything if the side making the requests is wavering," one lawmaker said. Another warned that opposition parties would "see our feet of clay and say we cannot even hold our own party together." Calls grew to settle the matter quickly.
Suzuki reports to the prime minister
On the afternoon of the 9th, Suzuki entered the Prime Minister's Office through the back door and reported the disciplinary measures to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in advance. According to people involved, the prime minister, who had shown strong displeasure at the four's actions, raised no objection.
Few expect the tax-cut opponents, including the four, to back the prime minister in next autumn's party leadership race. Some expect them to side with her rivals.
A senior official in the Prime Minister's Office was openly hostile. "Not cutting the tax had been damaging the government. This is a clear act of rebellion," the official said.