河井前法相夫妻が自民に離党届　執行部受理へ

　自民党の河井克行前法相（衆院広島３区）と妻の案里参院議員（広島選挙区）は、案里氏陣営の公職選挙法違反事件に絡んで離党届を提出した。党関係者が１７日、明らかにした。執行部は受理する方針。けじめをつける姿勢を示す狙いとみられるが、前法相は安倍晋三首相や菅義偉官房長官に近く、政権への影響は必至だ。
　河井夫妻をめぐっては、案里氏が初当選した２０１９年７月の参院選で、前法相が票の取りまとめを依頼する趣旨で地方議員らに現金を配った疑いが持たれている。検察当局は１７日の通常国会閉幕を受け、公選法違反（買収）容疑での立件に向け動きを本格化させる見通し。

　これに対し、河井夫妻は容疑を否定。議員辞職しない考えも示している。
　広島地裁は１６日、車上運動員に法定上限を超える報酬を支払ったとして、案里氏の公設秘書に有罪判決を言い渡した。連座制が適用されれば、案里氏は失職する。（2020/06/17-12:03）

Former Japanese Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai and his wife, Anri, on Wednesday offered to leave the ruling Liberal Democratic Party over an election scandal involving Anri's camp, party sources said.
   The LDP leadership team plans to accept the couple's resignations from the party, the sources said. The development looks certain to deal a blow to the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as Katsuyuki is close to the prime minister and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, pundits said.
   A former policy secretary to Katsuyuki and a state-paid secretary to Anri are on trial for allegedly paying a daily amount exceeding the legal limit to staff workers of Anri's campaign for the July 2019 election for the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the Diet, Japan's parliament. Anri won a parliamentary seat for the first time in the election, running in the poll from the prefectural constituency of Hiroshima, western Japan.
   In addition, the couple is suspected of having distributed cash to local politicians in the prefecture before the election to ask them for support for shoring up votes for Anri in the poll.
   Public prosecutors are expected to launch a full-scale investigation into Katsuyuki, a member of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber, and Anri for suspected vote-buying in violation of the public offices election law, after the regular Diet session ends on Wednesday.