Farm minister Toshikatsu Matsuoka, embroiled in a political funds scandal, committed suicide Monday at his residence in Tokyo's Akasaka district.

Matsuoka, 62, a former agriculture ministry official elected to the Lower House from Kumamoto Prefecture, had been under severe pressure by opposition lawmakers to resign over the irregular accounting practices of his political fund management body.

He was slated to attend a Diet session later in the day that was to look into bid-rigging allegations involving the farm ministry and related donations to bodies he was involved with.