Japan scandal-tainted minister kills himself: NHK

Toshikatsu Matsuoka, newly appointed Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister, speaks at newly elected Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's official residence in Tokyo in this September 26, 2006 file photo. Matsuoka, has attempted suicide but his fate is unknown, Kyodo news agency said on May 28, 2007.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's farm minister, Toshikatsu Matsuoka -- under fire for a series of political funding scandals -- has killed himself, NHK said on Monday.

Earlier, Matsuoka was found unconscious in his room at a residential complex for lawmakers in central Tokyo near parliament, and media reports said he had attempted to hang himself in the room.

Matsuoka's death comes less than two months before an election for parliament's upper house, a key test for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government.

Media reports have linked Matsuoka to a number of political fund scandals, including a case in which he had declared substantial office expenditures when his office was in fact rent-free, but the minister had repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.