Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe offered his resignation on Wednesday at a press conference held at his office, less than a month after he reshuffled the Cabinet following a crushing defeat in parliamentary election.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party is expected to select a new prime minister and have a new Cabinet formed soon.

Abe, who took office on September 26 last year, has been plagued by a series of scandals involving his Cabinet ministers, pension recording errors, as well as a crushing defeat in July's upper house election which cost the LDP's decades-long dominance in the chamber.

On August 27, Abe reshuffled the Cabinet and replaced the members with veteran politicians to regain public trust. However, in less than a week, the new Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Takehiko Endo resigned over a scandal involving a farmers' group that he heads. The internal affairs minister Hiroya Masuda admitted on Saturday an error in his own political fund report.

Abe hinted at resignation at a press conference after the Asia- Pacific Economic Cooperation forum Sunday in Sydney, saying that " I have no intention of clinging to my duties" as prime minister if he cannot have the parliament agree the extension of the refueling mission for US-led anti-terrorism operations.

(Xinhua News Agency September 12, 2007)