FUKUI šC Tatsuji Sugimoto, the governor of Fukui Prefecture, resigned on Thursday over his sexual harassment of prefectural government employees.
The Fukui prefectural assembly accepted his resignation at a plenary session on the same day.
Sugimoto, 63, submitted a resignation letter on Wednesday to assembly Speaker Takashi Miyamoto after admitting to sending inappropriate messages that constitute sexual harassment to multiple Fukui government workers.
¡°I sincerely apologize for the significant inconvenience caused by my resignation midway through my term in office,¡± Sugimoto said at a news conference held after the assembly session. ¡°I would like to convey my sincere apologies to everyone who suffered harm and was deeply hurt by my inappropriate words and actions.¡±
Although he has dismissed plans of running again in a gubernatorial election, Sugimoto said he may stay involved in politics.
Under the public offices election law, a gubernatorial election must be held within 50 days of the prefectural assembly head notifying the election board of the governor¡¯s resignation. The Fukui gubernatorial race is widely expected to be held on Jan. 25.
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