自民、渡海政調会長を決定　批判回避へ無派閥ベテラン

　自民党は２２日の総務会で、派閥のパーティー収入を巡る政治資金規正法違反事件を受け、政調会長に渡海紀三朗元文部科学相（７５）、国対委員長に浜田靖一前防衛相（６８）を充てる人事を決めた。２人は無派閥で、萩生田光一政調会長と高木毅国対委員長＝ともに安倍派＝の後任。
　派閥に対し世論の厳しい目が向けられる中、岸田文雄首相（党総裁）は派閥に属さないベテランの起用で批判をかわす狙いがあるとみられる。（2023/12/22-12:16）

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Friday approved plans to appoint former education minister Kisaburo Tokai as policy chief and former Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada as parliamentary affairs chief.
   Tokai and Hamada replaced Koichi Hagiuda and Tsuyoshi Takagi, respectively. Hagiuda and Takagi, both members of the LDP's biggest faction, tendered their resignations last week over a high-profile political funds scandal involving the faction.
   Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is also president of the LDP, appointed the veterans who do not belong to any faction to replace the members of the biggest faction, once led by the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
   On Dec. 14, Kishida replaced four cabinet ministers and five state ministers, all members of the Abe faction.
   Investigators from the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office on Tuesday raided the offices of the Abe faction and another LDP faction headed by former Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai for alleged failure to report hundreds of millions of yen in revenue from fundraising parties.