自民・竹下亘氏が政界引退

　自民党竹下派会長の竹下亘元総務会長（７４）＝衆院島根２区＝は８日、次期衆院選に出馬せず、政界を引退する意向を明らかにした。愛煙家として知られ、２０１９年１月に食道がんを公表して療養。同１１月に復帰したが、その後も入院するなどしていた。
　同派事務総長の山口泰明党選対委員長は同日昼に記者会見し「病魔に襲われ体力、気力が衰え、皆さんのために自信を持って働くことができない状態だ」とする竹下氏のコメントを発表した。
　異母兄の故登元首相の後継として２０００年の衆院選で政界入りし、７回当選。復興相や衆院予算委員長、党国対委員長を歴任した。（2021/07/08-12:40）

Veteran Japanese lawmaker Wataru Takeshita, a member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, on Thursday signaled his intention to retire from politics without running in the next election for the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, Japan's, parliament.
   The 74-year-old LDP bigwig, known to be a smoker, announced in January 2019 that he had been diagnosed with esophagus cancer and took leave. He resumed political activities in November the same year while continuing medical treatment.
   In a statement on Thursday, Takeshita, who heads his own LDP faction, said, "I'm unable to work for the people with confidence because of the illness, which has deprived me of my physical and mental strength." The statement was announced by Taimei Yamaguchi, the LDP's election strategy chief and secretary-general of the Takeshita faction, at a press conference.
   Takeshita made his political debut in 2000, when he was elected to the Lower House for the first time. He ran in the poll from the No. 2 constituency in the western prefecture of Shimane as the successor to the late former Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita, his older half brother.
   Wataru Takeshita has been elected to the Lower House seven times. He has served in such posts as reconstruction minister, chairman of the Lower House Budget Committee, Diet affairs chief of the LDP and chairman of the party's General Council.