Divisions within the ruling Democratic Party of Japan deepened Monday as a lawmaker resigned in a show of defiance against Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's key bill to double the consumption tax to 10 percent.
Takatane Kiuchi, a DPJ freshman and follower of DPJ kingpin Ichiro Ozawa, said his boss advocated "waiting for a while," but in the end he decided he couldn't stay in a party that was pushing for a sales tax hike without taking other reforms to cut costs.
"Quitting the party is the only way for me to maintain my principles," Kiuchi told reporters after submitting his resignation.