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.
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 Liberal Democratic Party, Nippon Ishin no Kai and the Democratic Party for the People settled on a bill that also changes how proportional seats are allocated and merges two regional blocs.
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.
Shigehiro Hatanaka, a former vice speaker, told reporters he set aside the money after taking the post in 2018, calling the practice a "bad custom" everyone knew about.
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 government will not adopt the "threat" label floated within the ruling parties as it revises its national security strategy and two related documents by year's end.
The three parties will submit a joint bill within the week to trim proportional-representation seats, aiming for enactment by 2027. Opposition parties say the rules are being rewritten mid-game.
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.
Kyodo's two-day phone poll puts former MP Shinji Inatomi slightly ahead, with five candidates bunched behind and more than 30% of voters undecided.
The prime minister skipped an online meeting of G7 leaders in early October. Her government blames a last-minute schedule change; lawmakers from both sides are not convinced.
Approval slipped to 41% in July before recovering to 45%. A year in, the coalition's footing looks different from the one it started on.
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.
A month after the prime minister missed a G7 leaders' online meeting, a government source describes a chain of staff who avoided asking her — while her account of why has changed each time she has been questioned in the Diet.
The former prime minister withheld his vote on the tax-cut bill. Past cases suggest the consequences for a party elder can be light.
A cross-party LDP group wants a new independent administrative body stood up early, with autumn 2027 in mind, to oversee defense equipment output and transfers.
The prime minister told LDP lawmaker Muneo Suzuki that Tokyo is pursuing the case through diplomatic channels, after a Hokkaido Shimbun journalist was detained by Russian authorities.
A 2008 collision off Chiba killed two fishermen and set off calls for the defense minister to resign. Yasuo Fukuda went to the family's home alone, and Ishiba stayed.
Three candidates are running as independents in the December 20 vote, but the prefectural party federation's decision to support two of them points to a divided contest over 12 years of incumbency and a planned public university.
A Liberal Democratic Party panel met on November 6 to discuss a bill that would exempt fusion power from the strict rules applied to existing nuclear plants and require the government to draw up a basic R&D plan.
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.
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.
