Japanese vice Finance Minister resigns over unpaid taxes
Nov 13, 2023
Tokyo [Japan], November 13 : A Japanese senior vice Finance Minister, Kenji Kanda on Monday tendered his resignation in the wake of a magazine report that said his company had not paid taxes, causing another setback to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Japan-based Kyodo News reported. The government has given approval to Kanda's resignation after he submitted it to Japan's Finance Minister, Shunichi Suzuki.
Kenji Kanda, a House of Representatives lawmaker of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, has acknowledged that authorities have on four occasions seized the land and property belonging to his company from 2013 to 2022 for not paying fixed asset taxes, according to Kyodo News report.
Opposition parties have criticised Kanda over the matter, considering his role in the Japanese Finance Ministry. Kanda has also acknowledged that he did not attend compulsory annual lectures for tax accountants, as alleged in the Shukan Bunshun weekly report, Kyodo News reported.
While addressing a parliamentary session last week, he said, "I became busy with national political affairs and the weight of my tax accountant work decreased." He further said, "Demand letters and other matters were left to the staff at the tax accountant's office. I was too busy to get involved."
An opposition lawmaker has called Kanda a "criminal" and said that his non-payment of taxes has given the impression that people do not have to pay taxes. Kanda apologised for his action but he initially denied that he would resign as senior vice finance minister of Japan.
Kenta Izumi, chief of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, has called on Kanda to step down as soon as possible. Izumi stressed that Kanda holds an "important position in the Finance Ministry responsible for asking people to pay taxes appropriately," according to Kyodo News report.
Izumi had hinted that his party would not be part of Diet deliberations on a supplementary budget for the fiscal year through March 2024 to finance the new economic stimulus package, unless Kishida replaces Kanda, Kyodo News reported.
Kanda's resignation comes after the departure of two other Cabinet members since Fumio Kishida revamped his cabinet in September. Taro Yamada quit as parliamentary vice education minister after it was revealed that he had an extramarital affair. Furthermore, Mito Kakizawa resigned as senior vice minister for justice over an alleged breach of the election law.
