Internal affairs minister Kunio Hatoyama resigned Friday after rejecting Prime Minister Taro Aso's request to approve Yoshifumi Nishikawa's reappointment as president of Japan Post Holdings Co.
Aso, who wants Nishikawa to stay at the helm of the financial, insurance and mail delivery behemoth, immediately accepted Hatoyama's resignation from the Cabinet.
"It was deeply regrettable that (Hatoyama's stance) gave the impression that the government and Japan Post were in confusion over the postal business," Aso said. "This incident had to be resolved immediately."