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 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.
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 Disaster Management Agency, launched on November 2, is meant to keep pre-disaster planning running even while the government responds to a major quake — a gap the Noto Peninsula earthquake exposed.
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 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.
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 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 former prime minister said the bill would damage Japan's finances, as the lower house passed the tax cut anyway.
