Japanese Economy Minister Akira Amari, a close ally of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, said Thursday he would resign to take responsibility for a political-funds scandal.
Mr. Amari was Japan’s top negotiator in the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade talks, a U.S led trade agreement among 12 Pacific nations.
His resignation is a blow to Mr. Abe, though not a severe one. It comes as Japan sputtering econiomy faces global headwinds emanating from China, sending the Japanese stock market tumbling.
The unfolding scandal, which involved accusations of bribery, threatened to damage the popularity of Mr. Abe’s government ahead of an upper-house election this summer.
Mr. Amari said he was resigning to avoid harming Mr. Abe’s economic revitalization program and to ensure the budget for the fiscal year beginning April 1 would be passed by Parliament without undue delay.
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