Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s haphazard handling of a revision of the political financing law could further complicate his already precarious position within the Liberal Democratic Party and among the public.
What appeared to have been a successful gamble on the part of Kishida – who, as party chairman, personally intervened to break an impasse in negotiations – has now turned into a sloppy move that could backfire on him in the run-up to the LDP presidential elections in September.
A vote scheduled for Tuesday on the LDP proposal was canceled this morning due to a misunderstanding between the party and the opposition Nippon Ishin no Kai over the threshold for disclosure of the use of so-called funds for political activities – amounts that lawmakers currently receive from their party without any disclosure obligation.
