神田財務副大臣を更迭　政務三役３人目、岸田首相に打撃

　政府は１３日、自民党の神田憲次財務副大臣（６０）＝衆院愛知５区＝について、持ち回り閣議で辞任を決めた。過去の税金滞納が発覚し、野党が辞任を求めていた。事実上の更迭となる。
　９月の内閣改造後、政務三役の辞任は３人目。内閣支持率が過去最低水準に低迷する岸田文雄首相にとって打撃となる。
　神田氏を巡っては、今後の国会審議に与える影響などを考慮し、自民党内でも辞任論が強まっていた。これに関し、松野博一官房長官は１３日の記者会見で「本人が事実関係を精査し、政治家としての責任で説明責任を果たすことが重要だ」と述べた。
　野党側は、神田氏の即時辞任を要求。立憲民主党の泉健太代表は、応じなければ２０２３年度補正予算案の審議を拒否する構えを示していた。（2023/11/13-13:17）

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida effectively sacked State Finance Minister Kenji Kanda on Monday over his past tax arrears.
   The Kishida cabinet endorsed the resignation of Kanda, 60, amid calls from opposition parties for him to step down following the revelation last week of his tax arrears.
   Kanda became the third politically appointed senior government official to quit over scandals since Kishida reshuffled his cabinet in September, dealing a heavy blow to his administration amid low public approval ratings.
   Calls for Kanda's resignation had been growing even within Kishida's ruling Liberal Democratic Party given the expected impact on parliamentary deliberations.
   "It's important for him to scrutinize the facts by himself and fulfill his accountability as a politician," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said at a press conference, referring to Kanda.