Japanese Official Resigns Under Fire

Japan’s deputy finance minister has decided to resign, taking responsibility for several scandals including the ministry’s cover-up of trading losses at Daiwa Bank’s New York office.

Kyosuke Shinozawa’s resignation, which will take effect in early January, was announced Friday by Finance Minister Masayoshi Takemura.

The announcement followed a wave a criticism for the ministry’s handling of several crises and its supervision of financial institutions.

Shinozawa’s resignation could raise questions about Takemura’s responsibility, but the finance minister said he had no intention of following suit.

“My responsibility as finance minister is to see through my responsibilities to the end,” he said.