Under fire Japanese farm minister resigns-media

TOKYO, Sep 3 (Reuters) Japan's farm minister Takehiko Endo submitted his resignation today, media reports said.

Endo's resignation in an early morning visit to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's office is aimed at quelling a furore over illegal dealings at a farmers' group he headed, and is seen as a blow to Abe just a week after he revamped his cabinet.

Endo had admitted on Saturday that the group had illegally taken ,900 million dollars in state subsidies and that he had failed to disclose this to Abe before his appointment.

The first cabinet formed by Abe, who took office a year ago, was plagued by scandals and gaffes and the 52-year-old conservative leader named a new lineup last Monday to try to revive public support after the ruling coalition suffered a disastrous defeat in a July 29 election that gave the opposition a majority in parliament's upper house.

Reuters BJR VP0558