Niigata governor mulling resignation over affair

April 17, 2018

Niigata- Ryuichi Yoneyama, governor of Niigata Prefecture, central Japan, said Tuesday that he is considering stepping down, after he was interviewed by a weekly magazine on his alleged affair.

At a press conference at the prefectural government office, Yoneyama apologized and said, "I'll make a decision," while citing his "keen desire" to continue serving as governor.

Still, he said, "I want to spend one or two days sorting out my situation," Yoneyama said.

The Japanese Communist Party and other parties supporting him will discuss what to do with the situation. The governor looks certain to face a resignation call, sources familiar with the situation said.

Yoneyama's resignation would likely have a major impact on discussions over the proposed restart of the No. 6 and No. 7 reactors at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.'s <9501> Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in the prefecture. He is cautious about the restart.

Last December, the Nuclear Regulation Authority adopted a report that the two reactors meet the country's new safety standards introduced after the March 2011 accident at TEPCO's Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant in the northeastern Japan prefecture of Fukushima.

Yoneyama informed the JCP and the Social Democratic Party on Monday of his intention to resign, according to the sources.

In talks with reporters on Tuesday, Yoshimoto Koyama, chief of the SDP's Niigata prefectural chapter, said, "We've told the governor that he should resign if the alleged affair is true."

Yoneyama is currently serving his first four-year term after winning the Niigata gubernatorial election in October 2016 with support from the JCP, the SDP and the Liberal Party. Jiji Press