OKAYAMA -- An elementary school principal who telephoned motorboat race sites from his office during working hours to check on results has resigned after being suspended from work.

The Okayama Prefectural Board of Education suspended the 56-year-old principal of Shirochi Elementary School in Takahashi, Okayama Prefecture, for six months, effective on Monday, as a penalty for using the telephone in the school principal's office to make private calls.

He allegedly called motorboat race arenas on 32 occasions from April last year to January this year and asked officials for race results. The calls cost 1,060 yen in total.

The principal's use of the school telephone for motorboat race results came to light after an official of the school learned that many long-distance calls had been made from the telephone and investigated the calls.

The former principal has already paid back the cost of the calls.