The governor of Hyogo Prefecture in western Japan has decided to lose his position instead of resigning after the local assembly passed a no-confidence motion against him last week. Saito Motohiko plans to run again in a gubernatorial election.
The governor plans to hold a news conference from 3 p.m. on Thursday to explain his decision.
Saito has been accused of power harassment and other misconduct. The prefectural assembly unanimously adopted a no-confidence motion against him last Thursday. The assembly members said Saito cannot escape responsibility for bringing local politics to a standstill and creating disarray in the prefectural government.
In response to the move, Saito had to choose whether to resign, automatically lose his position or dissolve the assembly by September 29.
The gubernatorial election is due to be held within 50 days after Saito loses his job.
Saito had told reporters on Wednesday that he was in the final stage of making up his mind, and after doing this, he would explain his course of action.
There have been four previous cases where a no-confidence motion was adopted against a Japanese prefectural governor. In all these cases, the governors chose to resign or lose their positions.