The chairman of the Industrial Bank of Japan resigned Tuesday to take responsibility for the bank's dealings with a restaurateur charged with using fraud to obtain billions of dollars in loans.
Kaneo Nakamura, 68, stepped down as the leader of the prestigious long-term credit bank but will remain as an adviser, a spokesman said.Nakamura's resignation is the latest in a series by top officials since last summer, when scandals began rocking Japan's financial world.
Finance Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto stepped down earlier this month following criticism that his ministry had been lax in overseeing the finance industry.
Nakamura was chairman of the Industrial Bank when it heavily financed Nui Onoue, a 61-year-old Osaka restaurateur once reputed to be the largest individual stock investor in Japan.