The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has recently enforced disciplinary measures against several lawmakers, most notably targeting senior figures associated with the Abe faction, due to their involvement in a political fund scandal that has tarnished the party's reputation. This decision was formalized during a meeting held by the Party Ethics Committee on April 4, where specific actions were taken, including urging key figures such as Ryu Shionoya and Hiroshige Seko to leave the party.
The severity of the imposed punishments varied, with Ryu Shionoya receiving one of the strictest measures, along with Hiroshige Seko, as they were deemed to have played significant roles in the scandal. Shionoya expressed his discontent with the party's decision, arguing that the punishments were overly severe and lacked clear standards or evidence of punishable misconduct. Additionally, former secretaries-general of the Abe faction, Hakubun Shimomura and Yasutoshi Nishimura, faced LDP membership suspensions for their involvement in the fund-raising party revenue discrepancies. These actions were taken as an effort to restore public trust in politics following the scandal that involved underreporting funds.
The fund scandal primarily revolved around the Abe and Nikai factions funneling excess party ticket sales back to individual lawmakers, which led to inaccuracies in their political fund reports over a five-year period. The LDP highlighted the failure of 82 incumbent lawmakers and the managers of three LDP branches to report such refunds accurately. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, alongside other party executives, stressed the importance of holding accountable those responsible, including Shionoya, Seko, Shimomura, and Nishimura, for their roles in perpetuating the problematic fund distribution practices of the Abe faction.