Bank of Japan Gov. Yasuo Matsushita has offered to resign to take the blame for the arrest of a BOJ official who allegedly took bribes from commercial banks, Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto said March 12.
Matsushita phoned him late March 11 to express his desire to step down after the arrest of Yasuyuki Yoshizawa, head of the Capital Markets Division of the BOJ's Credit and Market Management Department. Hashimoto told reporters at his Official Residence that he took Matsushita's request seriously and told him to do his utmost to carry out his tasks for the time being.
In a news conference March 11, Matsushita denied he had talked to the prime minister before meeting reporters. But in a statement released March 12, Matsushita admitted he had lied to reporters because he believed it would be inappropriate to reveal the contents of his phone conversation with Hashimoto before the prime minister explained the situation.