Masanori Arai, a lawmaker of the governing Liberal Democratic Party, submitted a letter of resignation Saturday to the House of Representatives secretariat, two days after prosecutors indicted him on charges of vote-buying.
Arai, a 48-year-old Lower House member who represented the Saitama prefectural No. 8 district, admitted to having been involved in vote-buying activities, a violation of the Public Offices Election Law, during campaigning for the Nov. 9. general election, according to investigative sources.
A lawyer submitted the resignation letter addressed to Lower House speaker Yohei Kono on behalf of Arai, who earlier submitted a similar letter to the LDP.
A Lower House plenary session is expected to approve his resignation on Monday. A by-election to fill Arai's seat is expected to take place April 25.