A senior lawmaker of Japan's main ruling Liberal Democratic Party has left the party in response to a disciplinary decision by the ethics committee against him regarding a fundraising scandal.
Former LDP Upper House secretary-general Seko Hiroshige submitted a notice of departure to the party on Thursday, after the committee decided disciplinary measures for 39 party members who were involved in a fundraising scandal, including Seko. The LDP accepted his notice of departure.
The 39 belonged to either the largest Abe faction, once led by the late Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, or the Nikai faction led by veteran lawmaker Nikai Toshihiro.
They were disciplined in connection with the failure to report revenues in kickbacks from fundraising events.
The Abe faction decided to drop the practice of kickbacks in April 2022, but it continued after four senior members discussed the matter months later.
The party considered handing out heavier penalties for those four members, namely Seko, former education minister Shionoya Ryu, former policy chief Shimomura Hakubun, and former economy minister Nishimura Yasutoshi.
The committee urged Seko and Shionoya to leave the party. This is the second heaviest punishment under party rules after expulsion.
Shimomura and Nishimura will have their party membership suspended for one year, which is the third heaviest.
Former Diet affairs chief Takagi Tsuyoshi and former chief cabinet secretary Matsuno Hirokazu of the Abe faction and three of the Nikai faction will also have their party membership suspended for six months or one year.
Members whose undeclared revenue during a five-year period topped 20 million yen, or about 132,000 dollars, are to face suspension from party posts for one year. Those include former LDP policy chief Hagiuda Koichi.
Members who failed to declare 10 million yen and more but less than 20 million yen are to face the suspension from party posts for six months, those who undeclared 5 million yen or more but less than 10 million yen are to receive a reprimand.
Nikai failed to declare the largest amount of more than 35 million yen for the five-year period.
But the party's heavyweight was exempted from discipline, as he has already expressed his decision not to run in the next Lower House election.
Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, who had previously led the Kishida faction, was also not punished although the former chief treasurer of his faction was found guilty.
Sources say some participants at the ethics committee said that the penalties are too strict.