TOKYO (Kyodo) -- House of Councillors President Hidehisa Otsuji has told the ruling Liberal Democratic Party he intends to step down from the post, citing ill health, a source close to the matter said Tuesday.

The 84-year-old will remain a Diet member until the end of his term next summer. The LDP will soon decide on his successor, who will be elected at an extraordinary Diet session expected to be convened on Nov. 11, the source said.

Otsuji, who is serving his sixth term, was first elected to the Diet's upper house in 1989 in the proportional representation section and has represented a constituency in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, since 2013.

He held posts including health minister and chairman of the upper house's budget committee before assuming the role of upper house president in August 2022.

Concerns for his health grew after Otsuji skipped a New Year's Day event for lawmakers at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, having reported a fever last December.

In July, he said he will not run in the upper house election next summer and retire from politics.

The upper house, where the president and vice president change every three years, has a custom of appointing the president from the ruling party and the vice president from the largest opposition party.