Overview
- Lawmaker Hiroshige Seko submitted a formal request to rejoin the Liberal Democratic Party on Thursday, May 28, 2026, after leaving the party in April 2024.
- Seko left the party in 2024 after the Abe-faction cash scandal produced a party recommendation that he resign his membership and he has served since as an independent representing Wakayama’s 2nd district.
- The LDP will refer Seko’s application to its party discipline committee, which will decide whether to readmit him under party rules for handling members who left under sanction.
- A separate legal development saw the prosecutor review panel declare eight former Abe-faction executives 'equivalent to non-prosecution,' a finding that does not determine guilt but has weighed on political debate over accountability.
- Party personnel moves under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi that have returned former Abe-faction figures to senior roles have strengthened that faction’s standing and make the committee’s decision a test of internal balance and public explanation.