The mayor of Satte, Saitama Prefecture, submitted his resignation to the local assembly Monday in response to a recall movement stemming from his desire to have the city merge with the town of Goka, Ibaraki Prefecture.
Minoru Masuda's resignation was approved by the municipal assembly the same day.
Masuda was recalled after residents opposing the merger plan, which would have seen the city merge with a municipality in a different prefecture, collected about 20,000 signatures demanding he be removed from office.