The General Council of the Liberal Democratic Party decides by unanimity, as a matter of custom. A 2016 paper by the political scientist Nishikawa Shin’ichi gives examples of how dissent has been handled. In 1974, two dissenting members were asked to leave their seats voluntarily, so that the council could adopt the Japan-China aviation agreement “unanimously.” In 2015, a member who opposed the security bills left before the vote, and the decision counted as unanimous.
On June 28, 2005, the council’s chair, Kuma Akio, broke the custom. He put an amendment to the postal privatization bills to a vote by show of hands.