TOKYO, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) issued warnings to former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and three other party lawmakers for walking out before a House of Representatives vote on a consumption tax cut bill, Kyodo News reported Monday.
According to a separate report by the Asahi Shimbun, it is the first time the LDP has disciplined a former prime minister under party rules.
The bill to cut the consumption tax on food and beverages for two years, promoted by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's government, cleared the lower house last Friday, but it faced objections from opposition parties and some LDP lawmakers over concerns including the lack of clarity about funding sources.
Ishiba, former director-general of the Economic Planning Agency Hajime Funada, former Justice Minister Yoshihisa Furukawa and former LDP Election Strategy Committee Chair Yuko Obuchi left the lower chamber before the vote and did not cast their ballots.
The four submitted written explanations to the LDP for their walkout, according to Kyodo News.
Ishiba said it would be extremely problematic for the country as a whole to lose consumption tax revenue without first identifying an alternative source of funding. ■
