TOKYO - Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party is urging four members, including former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, to explain themselves, after their walkouts ahead of a vote on a bill to implement a consumption tax cut sent ripples through the party.
The party has set a Monday deadline for the four to provide explanations before the leadership decides on any action against them, according to sources familiar with the matter. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who heads the party, has pushed for the temporary tax cut to help households hit by rising living costs.
The four, who left before the House of Representatives voted on the consumption tax reduction bill Friday, include Ishiba, who was replaced by Takaichi in October 2025, and Yuko Obuchi, an advocate of fiscal discipline who resigned as a senior member of an intraparty tax panel in July.
Ishiba took issue with the lack of clarity over funding, telling reporters, "Our concerns (about fiscal discipline) have yet to be dispelled."
Obuchi also voiced worries about funding on Friday, noting the importance of the consumption tax for future generations. Her father was part of the Cabinet that introduced it in 1989.
In the first reduction since the consumption tax was implemented, the ruling coalition of the LDP and the Japan Innovation Party aims to reduce the rate on food and beverages to 1 percent from 8 percent for two years from April.
While opposition parties view the bill as sketchy, it also seeks to introduce cash benefits for low-income earners.
While the walkouts raised eyebrows, Takaichi has refrained from openly criticizing the four.
Takayuki Kobayashi, the LDP's policy chief, called it "extremely regrettable" and another senior LDP member said, "It's not the kind of action a former prime minister should take."
The bill cleared the ruling coalition-controlled lower house. But the ruling camp does not hold a majority in the Senate and will need support from opposition parties to enact the legislation before the current session ends in December.
