The governor of Tokyo has said he is standing down amid a spending scandal, Japanese media report. Yoichi Masuzoe has faced fierce criticism over allegations he used official funds to pay for holidays, art and comic books for his children.
He had been expected to lose a no-confidence vote in the Japanese capital’s assembly later on Wednesday.
The scandal, which threatened to embarrass the 2020 Olympic host city, comes ahead of upper house elections.
Mr Masuzoe’s resignation is being seen as potentially damaging to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) chances in the 10 July vote.
His predecessor, Naoki Inose also quit over a funding scandal, in 2013, soon after Tokyo won the right to host the Olympics.
His resignation means a stand-in governor is likely to accept the Olympic flag for Tokyo at the end of the Rio Olympics in August.