TOKYO -- Former Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi has told Prime Minister Fumio Kishida that he plans to resign from his lower house parliamentary seat soon for health reasons.

Kishi hopes to have his eldest son, Nobuchiyo, who currently serves as a secretary, take over his district in Yamaguchi prefecture. Part of a political dynasty, Kishi is a younger brother of ex-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and a grandson of former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi.