Tax commission chair driven to resign

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Tax commission chair driven to resign

Honma Masaaki resigned as Tax Commission chair on December 21 after holding the position for only one and a half months due to a scandal in which he was living with a woman at a residence for senior government officials in Tokyo.

Since Prime Minister Abe Shinzo on his own initiative placed Honma as the commission chair, Honma's resignation deals a blow to the prime minister.

Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi on the same day commented on Honma's resignation as follows:

"A person who has been playing a leading role to impose heavier burdens on the public and to provide large corporations with more tax breaks lived in a government residence with a woman other than his wife. This person obviously is not qualified to talk about taxation. It is a matter of course for him to resign."

"Worse still, Prime Minister Abe not only appointed this person but has also defended him. The general public is suffering from hardships as seen in the working poor issue. The Honma issue has made clearer that the Abe Cabinet ignores the living conditions of the public. In the next ordinary session of the Diet, the JCP will thoroughly pursue Abe's responsibility."
- Akahata, December 22, 2006