Shizuoka –

Shizuoka Gov. Heita Kawakatsu plans to submit his resignation as early as Wednesday following his latest gaffe, informed sources said Monday.

Kawakatsu, 75, is under fire for a remark viewed as insulting to farmers and others, which was made last week in a speech to officials newly hired by the prefecture.

According to the prefectural election commission, a gubernatorial election may be held May 26 to pick his successor under the public office election law.

Kawakatsu initially planned to resign at the start of a prefectural assembly session in June. Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito members in the Shizuoka assembly demanded his early resignation, however, saying that he should not "cause stagnation in prefectural government."

The governor had said he would fully abide by the prefectural assembly's proposed schedule. On Monday, he notified the assembly that he will submit his resignation letter Wednesday, the sources said.

Likely candidates for the prefecture's governorship have already emerged.

Shinichi Omura, 60, a former internal affairs ministry official who has served as Shizuoka's vice governor, told reporters Monday that he plans to throw his hat into the ring. The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan's Shu Watanabe, 62, a lawmaker in the House of Representatives, is viewed as a possible candidate.

In the April 1 speech to new hires, Kawakatsu said, "Unlike (those who) sell vegetables, raise cattle and make things, you are basically highly intellectual people." Following public criticism, he announced his plan to step down and withdrew the remark.