Ex-Japanese Farm Minister Yoshikawa to Resign as Lawmaker

Tokyo, Dec. 21 (Jiji Press)--Former Japanese agriculture minister Takamori Yoshikawa said Monday that he will resign as a House of Representatives member for health reasons.

His decision is apparently linked to allegations that he received cash from a former chief of a major Japanese egg production firm, sources familiar with the situation said.

Yoshikawa, 70, a member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, will submit a resignation letter to Lower House Speaker Tadamori Oshima on Tuesday, a senior LDP official said.

In a statement, Yoshikawa said he is being hospitalized due to chronic heart failure and will soon have surgery to place a cardiac defibrillator in his body.

He said he needs to take care of his daily life after the surgery and will be unable to fulfill his duty as a lawmaker.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]