Central League President Sumiko Takahara will step down at the end of her term of office this month because of an ongoing battle with cancer, baseball officials said Tuesday.

The league's board of directors will select a successor to Takahara at their meeting Dec. 13 and then seek the approval of the club owners in January.

Takahara, former head of the Economic Planning Agency and ambassador to Finland, took over as CL president in March 1998.