LDP Urges Two Prominent Lawmakers To Leave Party Over Funding Scandal

In line with our earlier bullet (see 'LDP Disciplinary Committee Expected To Ask Two Snr Off'ls To Leave Party', 0907BST), Japan's governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has indeed urged lawmakers Ryu Shionoya and Hiroshige Seko to leave the party over a scandal involving fundraising by powerful LDP factions and the payment of kickbacks.

• As Kyodo News notes, the scandal has dogged PM Fumio Kishida for a year amid already-low approval ratings for him and his Cabinet. The PM will hope that the punishments for 39 current and former lawmakers proves enough to draw a line under the scandal, allowing Kishida to focus on his upcoming state visit to the US. Maintaining robust links with the White House is viewed as crucial for the Japanese gov't amid rising belligerence from North Korea and continued concerns about Chinese aims in the Indo-Pacific.
• The impact of the LDP faction funding scandal has already hit party support. Indeed, the LDP will not put forward candidates in two of the three 28 April parliamentary by-elections, with independents instead set to be backed by the LDP in the Tokyo No. 15 and Nagasaki No. 3 constituencies.