Pubdate: Thu, 06 Jan 2000 Source: Associated Press Copyright: 2000 Associated Press Author: Joji Sakurai DRUG, HARASSMENT SCANDALS FORCE JAPAN'S TOP COP TO RESIGN TOKYO Japan's top police chief resigned Thursday after allegations of drug abuse and sexual harassment tarnished the force's image and prompted calls for closer monitoring of officers. National Police Agency chief Yuko Sekiguchi, 60, told reporters he would quit to restore public trust in Japanese law enforcement, an agency spokesman said on customary condition of anonymity. "I am very sorry about the scandals," Sekiguchi was quoted as saying by Kyodo News agency. He added, however, that his resignation did not imply that he was taking responsibility for any wrongdoing in the force. The Japanese police's relatively benign image was cracked last year by a scandal in a Tokyo suburb centering on allegations that senior officials had covered up drug abuse by an agent. Officers in Kanagawa prefecture, or state, were also allegedly involved in sexual harassment and bullying of colleagues. The prefectural police chief and several other officials have been arrested in the drug cover-up. Those scandals - and accusations of sexual harassment in another prefectural police force - have triggered criticism of Japan's lack of a strong system to keep watch over law enforcers. Sekiguchi recently proposed a plan to bolster the National Public Safety Commission, the body that supervises Japan's police forces. He said he is stepping down now that the plan has been completed. "We now have various countermeasures in place to deal with the scandals," Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki was quoted as saying by Kyodo. Sekiguchi's resignation is expected to be approved this week at a Cabinet meeting, the police spokesman said. He is likely to be replaced by the agency's deputy chief, Setsuo Tanaka, 56. The scandals have received national attention - and criticism. Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi said late last year that the crimes were "beyond description" because they involved a systematic cover-up. The main scandal centers on allegations that the Kanagawa police covered up drug abuse by Yoshihisa Sakayori, 37, a former assistant inspector. Sakayori had confessed in December 1996 to using amphetamines - increasingly common in Japan. Despite a positive urine test for drugs, however, he was not immediately arrested. He was later fired for having an extramarital affair. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake