Japan: Vice Finance Minister resigns over case of unpaid taxes

Japan's senior vice Finance Minister, Kenji Kanda on Monday tendered his resignation in the wake of a media report that said his company has not paid taxes. Japan-based Kyodo News has reported this has caused another setback to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

The government has approved Kanda's resignation after he submitted it to Japan's Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki.

Kenji Kanda, a lawmaker in the House of Representatives 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, as per media reports.

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.

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."