Ishiba appears ready to speak before Diet ethics panel over gift vouchers

Ishiba appears ready to speak before Diet ethics panel over gift vouchers

Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the CDP, and Yuichiro Tamaki, head of the DPP, have called on Ishiba to give explanations before a parliamentary ethics panel.

Another LDP lawmaker gives credence to Japan PM gift-giving custom

Fresh evidence emerges that the controversial giving of gift vouchers to party lawmakers has been common practice among premiers from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, with a lower house member of the party saying he received vouchers after being elected in 2012 when Shinzo Abe was premier.

Another LDP lawmaker gives credence to Japan PMs' gift-giving custom

Fresh evidence emerged Friday pointing to a long-standing controversial practice among Japanese premiers from the Liberal Democratic Party of distributing gift certificates to party lawmakers, with a lower house member of the party saying he received vouchers after being elected in 2012 when Shinzo Abe was premier. Toshitaka Ooka became…

Despite the fact that Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's cabinet approval rating has plummeted due to the issue of distributing 100,000 yen worth of gift certificates to first-term LDP members of the House of Representatives, there is little momentum within the party to "bring down Ishiba." Many lawmakers feel a sense of crisis, but it was Senator Masashi Nishida, who is up for re-election in the House of Councillors election this summer, who spoke…