A Niigata Prefectural Police station chief under investigation for misconduct was found hanged at a park Monday night, police said Tuesday.
Yoshinobu Yahagi, 53, chief of Tainai Police Station, left three suicide notes addressed to his wife and station officials, the police said.
A senior police official said Yahagi referred in the notes to his questioning by investigating officers over professional misconduct since April.
In another recent case of misconduct by Niigata police, a senior official of another police station allegedly overstated the number of crimes solved.