Japan's scandal-hit farm minister resigns

TOKYO, Aug 1 (Reuters) Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has accepted the resignation of his scandal-tainted farm minister, the top government spokesman said today, days after the ruling coalition suffered an election drubbing.

Abe's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lost its majority in crushing upper house election defeat on Sunday sparked partly by public anger over financial scandals.

Agriculture Minister Norihiko Akagi had been pursued by domestic media over discrepancies in his political fund records since he was appointed in June after the suicide of his predecessor amid a separate financial scandal.

''There were various reports about me in the media and this affected the election campaign,'' Akagi told reporters.

''It cannot be denied that this was one factor in the defeat of the ruling coalition. I apologise sincerely. I wanted to draw a line under this,'' he said.

The result of the upper house election could lead to a period of policy stagnation and there have been calls from within the ruling coalition for Abe himself to step down.

REUTERS AE PM0900