Japan's new justice minister said to resign

TOKYO (AP) - Japanese media say the country's new justice minister has resigned due to health issues and allegations that he took questionable political contributions and attended a gangster's wedding.

The reports said Mr Keishu Tanaka submitted his resignation on Tuesday after only three weeks in office. He had been hospitalised for an irregular heartbeat and other health problems. He had also been at the centre of allegations that he had accepted questionable political funds and was a go-between in the wedding of an organised crime figure 30 years ago.

The resignation is seen as another blow to Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's administration. Mr Noda has approval ratings of about 20 per cent in polls and is being pushed hard to call elections that analysts say his party could lose.