A female lawmaker who left Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party last month after prosecutors began investigating her for alleged salary fraud involving a secretary with no duties resigned from the House of Councillors on Thursday. A by-election for Megumi Hirose's seat in Iwate Prefecture is expected to be held in October. The residence and office of the former lawyer, who won her seat in 2022, were searched in late July over the allegations.Hirose admitted in a statement to receiving funds to pay a salary to the secretary "to cover office expenses," although the secretary performed no …READ FULL ARTICLE
