Four veteran Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers left the chamber rather than vote for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's consumption tax cut and support payment bill on Friday, an extraordinary breach of party discipline over the fiscal policy she calls her long-cherished goal.
Shortly before 2 p.m., House of Representatives Speaker Eikichi Mori declared the start of the vote at a plenary session. Four LDP members known for their emphasis on fiscal discipline rose and walked out, the Asahi Shimbun reported.
The bill then passed the lower house. Its details remain unsettled, including how the tax cut will be funded and who will receive the support payments, and opposition parties have pushed back hard.
Ishiba cites funding and the yen
One of the four, former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, told reporters he could not support it. "The funding is not clear. It will damage the finances. The currency will weaken. Interest rates will rise. Prices will go up," he said. He added that his concerns could not be dispelled.
Former economy, trade and industry minister Yuko Obuchi said the consumption tax was built by earlier LDP lawmakers who paid a heavy price to prepare for an aging society with fewer children. "I cannot support a tax cut," she said.
Obuchi had already shown her opposition. On July 30, when the prime minister announced her intention to cut the consumption tax rate on food from 8% to 1%, Obuchi resigned from a senior post on the party's tax research commission.
A minority government's next test
The LDP holds a minority in the House of Councillors, and how the bill fares there is now uncertain.
Opposition parties have attacked the bill as half-baked. One lawmaker compared it to a renovation project with no cost estimate.