In another political blow to the nation's largest opposition party, veteran lawmaker Masanori Goto of the Democratic Party of Japan said Monday he will resign after two key aides admitted earlier in the day to illegally paying campaign workers in the Sept. 11 general election.
At a news conference in Tokyo, the 66-year-old lawmaker from Kochi Prefecture said he will tender his letter of resignation to the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
Earlier Monday, Tomohiro Fujisawa, a member of the Kochi Municipal Assembly, agreed to accept a summary indictment for illegally paying 136,000 yen to two of Goto's election workers, according to the Kochi prefectural chapter of the DPJ.