Saitama Prefecture will hold a special election Aug. 31 to replace Gov. Yoshihiko Tsuchiya, who is resigning over a political funds scandal, the prefectural election board said Wednesday.
The Saitama Prefectural Assembly is slated to hold an extraordinary session Friday to finalize the resignation tendered Monday by Tsuchiya, 77, a former president of the House of Councilors.
Tsuchiya's daughter, Momoko Ichikawa, 53, was arrested last week on suspicion of misappropriating 113 million yen in political funds donated to Tsuchiya between 1998 and 2002.