TOKYO A scandal-tainted lawmaker quit Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Liberal Democratic Party on Friday, wiping away tears as he apologized for a furore that threatens to further weaken the once-wildly popular Koizumi, Reuters reported.

But the purging of Muneo Suzuki is unlikely to satisfy opposition leaders who want to sue the influential Lower House member for perjury, dragging Koizumi deeper into a scandal that has eroded public support and distracted him from the economy.

Suzuki is under fire for a lengthy list of alleged misdeeds including meddling in foreign policy and intervening in the awarding of government-funded projects, including one on a small Russian-held island claimed by Japan and one in Kenya.

"I have decided to leave the party for all the troubles that I have caused," he told a news conference, tears running down his face, after testifying before a party ethics panel.

Suzuki, a member of the LDP's biggest and most powerful Hashimoto faction, apologized for acting out of line but insisted he had always meant to obey the law.

"I have never conducted political activities thinking that I was doing something bad," he said.

Earlier Friday, two of Koizumi's coalition partners urged the LDP to quickly defuse the two-month old scandal, which erupted just days after Koizumi fired Makiko Tanaka, his popular foreign minister whose public feud with Suzuki had clogged up Parliament.

"We requested that a speedy settlement be made," said Akihiro Ota, a senior official of the New Komeito Party.

A poll published by Jiji news agency on Friday showed Koizumi's support rating falling to 43.5 percent, off three percentage points from the last survey in February and the lowest in his 10 months in office.

The survey, taken a week ago, showed 43.5 percent of respondents disapproving of Koizumi, up 2.3 percentage points from February. Jiji said the uproar surrounding Suzuki appeared to have further undermined Koizumi's support.

Opposition parties have threatened to file a suit against Suzuki for perjury for this week's Parliament testimony.

"Quitting the LDP is not the answer. He talks about the troubles he caused for the party, but what about the troubles he caused for the people," Takako Doi, head of the opposition Social Democrats, was quoted by public broadcaster NHK as saying.

The opposition also this week submitted to Parliament a non-binding resolution calling for Suzuki to resign from his seat in the chamber.

The latest revelations against Suzuki include allegations he had punched and kicked a Foreign Ministry official who acted against the will of the lawmaker over policy regarding disputed Russian-held islands.

A separate scandal involving another party heavyweight is also haunting Koizumi and his LDP.

A former top aide and "treasurer" of Koichi Kato, head of a 15-member faction and a long-time ally of Koizumi, was arrested last week for allegedly evading 100 million yen ($773,900) in income taxes.

Japanese media said the scandal involving Kato posed a bigger threat to Koizumi, as the two, along with LDP Secretary-General Taku Yamasaki, had long advocated reform of the LDP.

While Suzuki's faction, named after former prime minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, is known for pork-barrel politics and dubbed "resistance forces" to Koizumi's reform policies, Kato was seen as a key ally for the prime minister.

Koizumi said he was determined to carry out political reform.

"I want to take these incidents as a chance to engage in constructive reform," he told reporters.

Local media said that while Kato and Suzuki come from opposite political camps -- one a reformer and the other a traditional politician -- both were embroiled in scandals that involved money needed to win influence within and outside the party.

Kato topped the list of fundraisers among Japanese lawmakers in 2000 with 628 million yen ($4.86 million), while Suzuki came in third with 444 million yen.

The opposition alleges Suzuki used his clout to intervene in government-funded projects in the disputed Russian-held islands, awarding contracts in return for political donations.

Japanese media said Kato's aide allegedly concealed some 280 million yen received from firms in exchange for helping them win government contracts, and used part of the money to pay the salaries of Kato's other secretaries.

According to the Japanese media reports, the money was then funnelled to other lawmakers in the LDP, a classic method used by LDP heavyweights to wield influence over colleagues and increase their status in the party.

The scandals have dented the popularity of Koizumi, who sprang to power untainted by scandal and vowing to shake up the party. They've also cast some doubt over his reform agenda.

Koizumi, who lacks a strong base within the LDP, has relied on public support to carry out reforms. As his support drops, financial markets are questioning whether he can push ahead.