Former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto said Friday that he will resign as chairman of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's largest faction because of a political donation scandal.
The announcement came during an extraordinary faction meeting held at LDP headquarters in Tokyo.
Hashimoto said he will leave the faction, called Heisei Kenkyukai (Heisei Study Group), and not run from his single-seat constituency in the next House of Representatives election, meeting participants said.