Japan's defense minister resigns amid scandal

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday said Defense Minister Tomomi Inada had submitted her resignation to account for a scandal involving the coverup of logs that recorded the daily activities of Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force troops serving as U.N. peacekeepers in South Sudan.

Inada's resignation comes ahead of a planned Cabinet reshuffle by the prime minister next week.

Inada tendered her resignation despite denying the allegations. Abe said he has accepted the resignation.

Tomomi Inada, the departing minister of defense, leaving the ministry in Tokyo on Friday.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)