Tokyo DispatchJapan, in EnglishMizuoka of the Constitutional Democratic Party says the departure of Ishiba and three other Lower House members over a food tax cut bill could sway how ruling party lawmakers vote in the Upper House.
The rate on food and drink would fall from 8% to 1% for two years from next spring. Polls show voters split, and a fiscal scholar says the choice between higher taxes and thinner welfare cannot be dodged.
Ishiba and three others say the consumption tax cut bill lacks a funding plan and that the money would drain from social security
The party's swift decision to discipline a former prime minister signals that Takaichi intends to enforce party discipline without debate.
The consumption tax on food falls to 1% for two years from April 2027, but the minority government must now win over opposition parties in the upper house.
The party's executive board issued a formal warning to Ishiba and three others who walked out before the vote, rejecting the precedent that former party presidents get lenient treatment.
The former prime minister left the lower house floor before a vote on the consumption tax cut bill. Party headquarters says no former president has ever been disciplined.
The former prime minister left the chamber rather than vote on a consumption tax cut. In 2012 he said lawmakers who defied the party on tax should leave it.
The cabinet has held near 50% support a year after taking office. The conservative-leaning opposition supporters who once backed it have been drifting away since January.
The bill to cut the consumption tax on food and drink and create an income-linked benefit passed the lower house with every opposition party opposed. After more than 30 hours of debate, the government has still not said how it will pay for the cut.
The former prime minister withheld his vote on the tax-cut bill. Past cases suggest the consequences for a party elder can be light.
Sohei Kamiya thanked the party and said he would work across ideological lines, while warning that opposition parties are playing into the ruling coalition's hands.
Travelers can no longer skip the consumption tax at the counter; under the new refund system introduced on November 1, they pay full price in the store and claim the tax back when they leave.
The government's income-linked support payment, due in fiscal 2027, works out to about ¥417 a month for low earners — a figure that has landed badly online.
The finance minister dropped into a Christmas illumination event and reported the lower house passage of the consumption tax cut bill.
The former Osaka mayor praised Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama for pushing through a bill that would cut the tax on food and drink to 1% for two years from April 2027.
The former justice minister criticized fellow Liberal Democrats who left the chamber before a vote on the tax-cut bill, which passed the lower house.
The government will scale back subsidies that have held regular gasoline near ¥170 a liter, with the timing set to land before the consumption tax cut takes effect in April.
The former prime minister said the bill would damage Japan's finances, as the lower house passed the tax cut anyway.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi says the cut in the food consumption tax will show up in prices. Supermarket and convenience store bosses say rising costs may leave them no room to pass it on.
The Democratic Reform Association leader told a press conference he will oppose the government's consumption tax bill, arguing that speedy, fair payouts do better than a temporary cut under inflation.
The party chief said he holds the Communists in respect after they broke with years of criticism to support his tax cut, and called for opposition parties to line up on political funding rules too.
