The president of the House of Councilors tendered his resignation Friday to take responsibility for an alleged payoff scandal in which his policy secretary reportedly received 64 million yen in connection with a public works project.
The Upper House is expected to officially accept Yutaka Inoue's resignation and elect his successor at Monday's plenary session, making Inoue the chamber's first president to vacate the post over a scandal.
The incident, involving the veteran lawmaker from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, dealt a fresh blow to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, whose administration has been rocked since February by a series of money scandals involving key politicians.