The Liberal Democratic Party has reprimanded four Lower House lawmakers, including former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba,?for walking out before a vote on the consumption tax reduction and support payment bill — the first time ever that a former party leader has been officially disciplined.?
“The Upper House is about to begin its parliamentary deliberations, so it’s good to resolve this matter quickly, rather than dragging it out for one, two, or three weeks,” LDP Secretary-General Shunichi Suzuki, who issued the punishments, told reporters Monday night after the four were disciplined.
The move is intended to tighten control within the party before deliberations on the bill, which was passed by the Lower House Friday, begin in the opposition-controlled Upper House. All major opposition parties are against the bill.
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