TOKYO —

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Thursday told a gathering of ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) members that any election candidate who opposes the consumption tax hike bill will not have the party’s backing in the next lower house election.

Noda has been under fire for not disciplining DPJ members who voted against the bill in the Diet on June 26.

He also apologized to the gathering for not being able to prevent party bigwig Ichiro Ozawa and 50 of his supporters from leaving the party last week, Fuji TV reported. He asked all party members to work with him to restore unity.

But he remained adamant that any candidate who voted against the bill will not be endorsed as candidates, Fuji reported.

Japan Today

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  FightingViking at Jul. 13, 2012 - 08:48AM JST

  If you guys don't agree with me, I won't play with you anymore - so there !

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  samwatters at Jul. 13, 2012 - 10:22AM JST

  And this hurts the tax opponents because.......?

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  Simon Foston at Jul. 13, 2012 - 10:52AM JST

  And this hurts the tax opponents because.......?

  Supposedly they won't have any money to buy those stupid posters with their stupid ugly faces on that they stick up everywhere, or run those stupid loudspeaker trucks filled with stupid women waving at passers-by. However, as they can easily get through the loopholes in the Political Funds Control Law, it's probably not going to hurt them very much at all.

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  HowardStern at Jul. 13, 2012 - 12:11PM JST

  Noda's seppuku.

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  samwatters at Jul. 13, 2012 - 03:01PM JST

  "Supposedly they won't have any money to buy those stupid posters with their stupid ugly faces on that they stick up everywhere, or run those stupid loudspeaker trucks filled with stupid women waving at passers-by. However, as they can easily get through the loopholes in the Political Funds Control Law, it's probably not going to hurt them very much at all."

  @SimonFoston. Good point. I will offter to pay them NOT to put their faces on posters as it makes me sick when I am riding my bicycle.

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  smithinjapan at Jul. 13, 2012 - 03:08PM JST

  So he apologized for not keeping Ozawa and co. in the party but the DPJ officially fired them after they quit, didn't they? And now Ozawa is seeking support from the party he quit long ago and helped the DPJ beat in the last election? This broken record just keeps going around and around.

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  kazetsukai at Jul. 13, 2012 - 09:31PM JST

  Sad that everyone thinks that a political party represents and runs the government and the nation. While it is true that all parties must "agree" to the extent required for voting purposes to set laws and public policy, it is the Prime minister, the President, the representative leader of the nation that should run the government and the nation.

  Sad too is that a political party is the one in power and not the leader. So the political party tend to set the policies and influence the administration of laws.

  Noda has been trying to become independent for a while, showing some initiative, in this trying period.

  Most foreigners, except may be the Chinese or the Russian people would look favorably at their leader having to consult and get approval from a political party that influence the decision making process. Most nations under democratic system would look at the legislators to be trying to monitor and change any gross errors that their leader may make in administering the laws that were created.

  So it is not necessary for Noda to apologize because a "renegade group" within a party that outright decided to leave the party.

  If japan is to become strong again, it needs a strong leadership and not necessarily a strong but "corrupt" political party. If this "cleans" the party of those who do not really represent the needs of the nation (which in my opinion it was), then it was worth the split.

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  lucabrasi at Jul. 13, 2012 - 09:39PM JST

  @kazetsukai

  it is the Prime minister, the President, the representative leader of the nation that should run the government and the nation

  Prime ministers and presidents are entirely different. The UK Prime minister is not the representative leader of the nation. The Queen is. As is the Emperor in Japan or the King in Thailand.

  It's not a small point. The systems (presidential and monarchical) are absolutely not the same and should never be confused.

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  BertieWooster at Jul. 13, 2012 - 11:35PM JST

  Beware!

  Noddy Noda has spoken!

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  Shumatsu_Samurai at Jul. 15, 2012 - 06:54AM JST

  And this hurts the tax opponents because.......?

  Because they won't be able to run under the DPJ banner. Which is a problem if you're not a member of another established party.