Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has been facing harsh criticism from his own Liberal Democratic Party, the opposition and the public following revelations that he handed out gift vouchers worth ¥100,000 ($668) each to 15 rookie LDP lawmakers earlier this month.
The timing of the reports — which initially appeared in the Asahi Shimbun — could not have been worse.
Ishiba had just apologized in parliament for his fumble over reversing a hike in medical copayment caps — a policy shift that now requires an unprecedented second revision of the fiscal 2025 budget that the prime minister had hoped to pass by March 2 in the Lower House.
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