Curtain falls on Abe faction’s 45-year history but scrutiny to continue

The Liberal Democratic Party’s largest political faction formally met Thursday for what was likely to be the final time, as the group, previously headed by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, announced it was bringing down the curtain on its 45-year run.

But with questions still swirling about the involvement of Abe faction members, especially faction leaders, in an LDP political slush funds scandal, the decision to dissolve the faction — formally known as the Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyukai — may not be the end of the story. Calls by opposition leaders to have senior Abe faction leaders testify in parliament about their role in a scheme involving kickbacks of unrecorded sales of political fundraising event tickets to faction members are likely to continue.

A somber Ryu Shionoya, who headed the faction’s leadership committee but was never formally appointed chairman after Abe was assassinated in July 2022, made the announcement that the faction was done.