Japanese Agriculture Minister Kazuo Yana said he had tendered his resignation following allegations of possible vote-buying, lining him up to become the first senior minister in Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s government to quit over a scandal.
The prime minister had resisted calls to have Yana step down after local media reports said he claimed to have cut roadworks funding to municipalities that did not support him in February’s general election.
The tide turned after allegations surfaced that he infringed on Japan’s strict electoral laws by arranging free transport to an election kick-off rally, in what some media suggested was a vote-buying move.
Yana has denied breaking the law, saying that the transport was arranged as a venue cost and did not constitute a donation, but in recent days Takaichi appeared to be gradually cutting him loose. It was not immediately clear whether Takaichi had accepted his resignation.