Tax Commission chief Masaaki Honma, under fire over allegations that he used his government apartment to house a lover but yet advocated the selloff of such state-subsidized properties, resigned Thursday, dealing another blow to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's falling approval ratings.
Honma's resignation came just two months after he started the job and may undermine Abe's plan to boost tax revenues by stimulating corporate growth.
Honma got the post after Abe made room for him by effectively dismissing his predecessor, Hiromitsu Ishi, who supported hiking the consumption tax, a taboo with an election looming next summer.
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