Lower House member Masatoshi Akimoto quit the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Saturday in the wake of allegations that he accepted bribes from a wind power company, the LDP said.
His resignation from the party, tendered and accepted on Saturday, comes a day after Tokyo prosecutors searched his offices and home in connection with the allegations involving Japan Wind Development Co., prompting him to quit as parliamentary vice foreign minister.
The prosecutors on Saturday also searched the home of the Tokyo-based wind power company's president, Masayuki Tsukawaki, suspecting that he gave Akimoto, 47, a bribe in the form of investments in a racehorse owners' group effectively run by the lawmaker, according to sources close to the matter.