A secretary to Japan's top government spokesperson intends to resign after receiving a traffic ticket for driving under the influence of alcohol, his boss, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, has said in a statement.
In an apology to the public regarding his policy secretary's conduct, Matsuno said Saturday that he takes the matter "very seriously" and that his "supervision and management did not go far enough."
The secretary, who works at Matsuno's constituency office in Chiba Prefecture, will submit his resignation to the House of Representatives on Monday.
According to Matsuno, his 49-year-old secretary drank alone for about an hour at a pub in the city of Chiba from 7 p.m. Friday, and was making the return drive home of less than a kilometer when a police officer stopped him for questioning.
A breathalyzer test found his alcohol level was above the legal limit, and he was issued a traffic ticket.
The secretary said he drank about three glasses of diluted shōchū, a distilled liquor, but because he could not get in touch with a designated driver service he "complacently" decided to drive home, according to Matsuno.