The ruling Liberal Democratic Party decided Wednesday that it will not endorse 12 party lawmakers involved in a political slush funds scandal for the Oct. 27 Lower House election.
The decision by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who is also the party president, and senior party officials means those who were not endorsed will be forced to campaign without support, including financial assistance, from the party in district elections.
If they lose, they will also not be able to win a seat via the proportional representation system — a possibility for endorsed LDP members who lose in their constituencies.
The 12 LDP lawmakers who did not receive the party’s official endorsement are:
- former party policy chief Koichi Hagiuda
- former education minister Hakubun Shimomura
- former trade minister Yasutoshi Nishimura
- former party parliamentary affairs chief Tsuyoshi Takagi
- former Cabinet Office state minister Hiromi Mitsubayashi
- former reconstruction minister Katsuei Hirasawa
- Former trade and industry vice minister Kenichi Hosoda
- Former Vice Foreign Minister Kiyoshi Odawara
- Tohoku proportional representative Ichiro Kanke
- Tokyo proportional representative Takao Ochi
- North Kanto proportional representative Kazuyuki Nakane
- Former Lower House lawmaker Hirofumi Imamura
All of the lawmakers punished are from the factions led by late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which has been at the center of the slush funds scandal, or the one led by former LDP Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai. Ishiba’s decision is designed to show the public that he’s trying to clean up the party in advance of the election.
But he could face an internal backlash from former Abe faction members and other party members, who question what the exact standards used for denying party backing of candidates was, and whether his decisions were fair. Campaigning for the election is due to kick off on Oct. 15.
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