TOKYO: Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party is considering a plan to punish in early April or later 82 members embroiled in a high-profile money scandal involving party factions, it was learned Tuesday.

The 82 members belonged to factions led by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and former LDP Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai, respectively, and have been found to have failed to report some political funds.

By punishing them en masse, the LDP apparently hopes to demonstrate its ability to govern itself and regain public trust.

At a meeting of party executives on Tuesday, LDP Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi reported that he had been instructed by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is LDP president, to reach a conclusion on punishments.

“We want to decide on a strict response plan as soon as possible after discussions within the party leadership,” Motegi said.

On the same day, the LDP ethics committee selected Ichiro Aisawa as its new chairman, after Seiichi Eto stepped down from the post over his failure to report funds. The committee will begin mulling possible punishments soon.

The party believes that it is best to complete punishments before April 16, the day the official campaigning period begins for three parliamentary by-elections, to minimize the impact of the scandal on the races.

Kishida is slated to travel to the United States earlier in April, so the party is seeking to finalize punishments by the first week of the month.

But a party source said that it will be difficult for the LDP to impose punishments “until the Diet settles down.” Opposition parties are stepping up their offensive, demanding that scandal-mired lawmakers be summoned for Diet testimonies as sworn witnesses and that they appear before political ethics panels.

Some are calling for former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, who once led the Abe faction, to be questioned before punishments.

On the scope of punishments, a senior LDP official said that the party “has no choice but to punish lawmakers who failed to report funds.”

Kishida has said that lawmakers will be punished based on the amount of unreported funds, their histories in positions and how they have fulfilled their accountability.

Most of the 82 lawmakers are expected to be given punishments such as recommendations to abide by party rules and admonitions, while former executives of involved factions are expected to receive suspensions of party posts or recommendations to step down from Diet and government posts.

The LDP is unlikely to impose the heaviest punishment possible, which is expulsion from the party.

But some party members believe that former faction executives should face harsher punishments, such as removal of party endorsements in elections and suspensions of party membership, given the public criticism of the scandal.

Kishida is expected to face a difficult decision in setting the scope and severity of punishments, as strict action may lead to stronger calls for the prime minister, whose faction saw its former chief accountant indicted over unreported funds, to be punished as well.

JIJI Press