Katsuichi Yakushiji, the mayor of Meguro Ward, Tokyo, was found dead in his home Sunday morning after apparently hanging himself, police said.
Relatives of Yakushiji, 71, called an ambulance at around 5:50 a.m., police said. He was pronounced dead about an hour later.
Police are looking into the incident as a suicide. Yakushiji had recently told his family he was tired and not feeling well. A memo apparently meant as a suicide note was found in his pocket, they said.
Yakushiji was serving his second term as the ward chief after first being elected in October 1998. He was to appear soon in court as a witness in a damages suit filed by a former ward assembly member in connection with the ward's illegal allocation of subsidies for the construction of a special nursing home.