Opposition Sees Opportunity as Ishiba Digs His Own Grave

Jiji Press

12:18 JST, March 16, 2025

Tokyo (Jiji Press)—Japanese opposition parties are poised to step up their offensive against Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who has dug his own grave by giving gift certificates to new lawmakers of his Liberal Democratic Party.

Ishiba, already hurt by low public support, has found himself caught in a bind ahead of this summer’s election for the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of parliament, as the scandal has shaken his image as a “clean politician,” one of his selling points.

With Ishiba rapidly losing support within the ruling camp, the political situation has become volatile. The opposition is examining when to demand his resignation.

Lame Excuse

“I only looked at my colleagues. I didn’t sufficiently care about the people,” Ishiba told the Upper House Budget Committee on Friday. It was a day after he admitted giving gift certificates worth ¥100,000 each to 15 new lawmakers who attended a gathering he hosted at the prime minister’s official residence March 3.

“Such a gift was unusual, so I kept it in my office,” one of the lawmakers said.

The LDP’s executive team was informed of the scandal by noon Thursday. “There was nothing we could do about it,” an executive said.

The political funds control law prohibits individuals from donating money to politicians for political activities. The internal affairs ministry says that gift certificates are considered equivalent to money.

Ishiba has repeatedly said he wanted to show his appreciation to the new LDP lawmakers and their families, who worked hard. He takes the position that the gifts had nothing to do with political activities.

Hirofumi Yanagase of Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party), an opposition party, criticized Ishiba at the Budget Committee, saying he was making “a lame excuse.”

“It’s about trying to enhance his influence as prime minister. It’s nothing but political activity,” Yanagase said.

Bad Practice at LDP

Many in the political world say that there were dubious movements of money among LDP members over party leadership elections and parliamentary affairs.

“Souvenirs are given at meal sessions hosted by senior politicians. A souvenir worth some ¥100,000 is usual,” a former minister said, adding that the LDP’s old bad practice has persisted albeit in a different form.

Former Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka, whom Ishiba adores as his political mentor, was a symbol of money politics.

Ishiba has admitted that he gave gift certificates even on occasions other than the March 3 gathering, possibly around 10 times. But he has not been clear about details, such as the value of the past gifts.

“He did something uncharacteristic of him,” an LDP executive said.

Calculations

Opposition parties, which had agreed to discuss revising the government’s fiscal 2025 draft budget, was gradually turning confrontational after Ishiba’s flip-flops over the high-cost medical care system and the LDP’s persistent refusal to scrap political donations from companies and organizations.

Then came the gift certificate scandal. Opposition parties are poised to attack him in the Diet.

A key issue is what to do with the budget. The government plans to revise the budget again in the Upper House in light of Ishiba’s decision to freeze the planned hike in the ceilings on out-of-pocket expenses for high-cost medical care.

The revised budget, even after passing the Upper House, still needs to go through a vote in the House of Representatives, the lower chamber, where the LDP-Komeito pair is short of a majority.

At Nippon Ishin, which voted for the budget before the revision at the Lower House earlier this month, co-leader Seiji Maehara indicated that the party will reconsider its response to the budget. “We can’t help but think that the recipients were bribed.”

Some opposition members said it is better to keep the weakened Ishiba administration alive for this summer’s Upper House election.

“I want the prime minister to remain the face of the LDP,” said a veteran lawmaker of the leading opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan.

Asked whether Ishiba should resign over the gift certificate scandal, CDP President Yoshihiko Noda sounded cautious Friday. His answer was, “We haven’t reached that point yet.”

Whether and when to submit a no-confidence motion against the Ishiba cabinet will also be a key issue. But a middle-ranking CDP lawmaker said, “Someone is putting the brakes on it,” suggesting that the party will monitor further developments for now.

In the LDP, calls for the resignation of Ishiba have already been voiced by Upper House members whose seats will be up for grabs in the summer election.

“With approval ratings seen falling further, we definitely will not be able to fight the election anymore,” a middle-ranking lawmaker said Friday.

Ishiba has been able to stay in office even after the LDP’s crushing defeat in the Lower House election last autumn, largely thanks to the absence of post-Ishiba candidates.

Ahead of the Upper House election, meetings among former LDP faction members and former prime ministers are increasing. Calls for Ishiba’s resignation may spread rapidly depending on the course of public opinion.

Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama met with former Prime Minister Taro Aso at the party headquarters Friday.

In 2001, then Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, who was struggling with low public support ratings, was forced to resign ahead of an Upper House election. “The situation is beginning to look similar to that back then,” an LDP source said.