A Defense Ministry official jumped off a headquarters building in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, in an apparent suicide Monday morning, the ministry said.

A member of the Air Staff Office, the official started working at the ministry Wednesday, the ministry said, adding he was not involved in the false alarm Saturday over North Korea's rocket launch.

Dressed in a business suit, the body was found lying on the ground outside the ministry building at around 9:55 a.m. The man was immediately confirmed dead by a ministry doctor.

The body was found near the main entrance of the 19-story building housing the minister's office and other offices of the ministry's central operations.