The president of Nippon Television Network Corp. resigned March 16 to take responsibility for a news report that falsely accused the Gifu Prefectural Government of concealing a slush fund.

Shintaro Kubo KYODO PHOTO

The report "was erroneous and it was due to my lack of supervision," NTV President Shintaro Kubo, 64, said at a news conference. "I would like to make every employee aware of the seriousness of the incident."

Chairman Noritada Hosokawa, 68, will now also serve as president, the company said.

NTV also announced it removed Hisao Adachi as head of the news bureau and suspended him for three days.

The network's board members approved the personnel changes March 16.

On Nov. 23, the popular NTV news program Shinso Hodo Bankisha aired a report in which a 58-year-old former construction company worker alleged that he helped the Gifu government create a slush fund by falsely claiming to have done construction work for the prefecture.

The man was arrested March 9 for allegedly obstructing the operation of government when his testimony turned out to be false.

"I would like to apologize sincerely to Gifu Prefectural Government employees and viewers," Kubo said, explaining that he "simply believed" what the man said.

"There were problems not only in confirming the facts but also in our reporting methods in general."

NTV will conduct an internal investigation before deciding whether to cancel the program, he said, adding that the company will release the results of the investigation.