Japan's Prime Minister Kishida Fumio is calling for decisive action to deal with a deepening money scandal in the main ruling party and he is setting the tone by quitting his own faction.

Kishida said, "I want to take the initiative and work hard to restore trust in the party's politics. So this is why I have made the decision to leave the faction during my term as Prime Minister and LDP President."

Five factions in the Liberal Democratic Party are in hot water over reports they did not fully disclose income and expenditure from ticket sales for fundraiser events. Observers say Kishida wants to address the issue from a neutral position.

Sources say Tokyo prosecutors are investigating. The factions reportedly set sales quotas for tickets, and gave kickbacks to lawmakers who exceeded their targets. The work is said to involve getting people, businesses and political groups to attend a fundraiser. Money from ticket sales goes to the faction and any excess revenue goes back to the lawmakers.

On Wednesday, Kishida told the LDP's factions to refrain from holding fundraising events for the time being.