Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba doling out ¥100,000 ($670) in gift vouchers to 15 freshman Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers has put him in the political doghouse.
Giving the vouchers, which he said were paid for out of his own pocket, was an ethical problem but not, he added, a legal one. That mattered little to members of his own party, however, who questioned whether Ishiba could lead an already-weak LDP into this summer’s Upper House election, and they wondered whether the opposition parties would pass a no-confidence motion against him that could force him to resign.
But dumping Ishiba before the election, expected at the end of July, carries political risks for politicians on both sides of the aisle.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.