TOKYO, May 28 (RIA Novosti) - Japan's agriculture minister died Monday after hanging himself hours before he was to face questioning in parliament over a political scandal, officials said.
Toshikatsu Matsuoka was found in his apartment unconscious and later died in a hospital, a police official said.
The general secretary of the Japanese Cabinet of Ministers, Yasuhisa Shiozaki, confirmed Matsuoka's death.
Matsuoka became a member of the lower house of parliament in 1990. Last year he was appointed minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries.
