Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Kunio Hatoyama, the younger brother of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, tendered his resignation Friday from all party posts over the fundraising scandal involving the prominent political family.
The move apparently reflects concerns within the main opposition party that it would have trouble attacking the prime minister over the same funding scandal, in which both brothers allegedly received huge amounts of money from their mother in the form of tax-free loans.
Kunio Hatoyama's move came days after the former internal affairs and communications minister admitted to having received political funds from his mother and offered to pay taxes on them.