Former Japanese Environment Minister Nobuteru Ishihara is going to succeed Akira Amari who resigned as economic minister on Thursday over graft scandal, according to local media report.

Amari on Thursday offered his resignation due to graft allegation in a press conference to explain the bribery allegation. Amari was also the minister in charge of Japan's participation in the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade talks.

During the press conference on Thursday afternoon, Amari admitted that he received cash about 1 million yen (about 8,400 U.S. dollars) in total from a construction company, adding he instructed his secretary to properly handle the money.

He said that the company also gave 5 million yen (about 42,000 U.S. dollars) to his secretary but he failed to handle the money appropriately.

Considering the negative effects brought by the graft scandal to the national Diet proceedings, Amari decided to quit from the post as economic and fiscal policy minister.

The scandal came at a time when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Liberal Democratic Party are making efforts to secure a victory in the upper house election to be held in this summer so as to launch the motion to amend the Japanese Constitution.

Several government ministers in Abe's cabinet were trapped in misusing political fund and finally resigned in past years.

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