TOKYO — Japan’s defense minister and its army chief resigned on Friday over allegations that they misled Parliament and the public over dangers faced by Japanese soldiers on a United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan, dealing another blow to the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Controversy over official accounts of the mission, which Japan ended in May, has weakened Mr. Abe’s government, contributing to plunging approval ratings and undercutting the prime minister’s efforts to loosen longstanding legal constraints on the military.

The departures of the minister, Tomomi Inada, and the ground forces chief of staff, Gen. Toshiya Okabe, coincided with an internal Defense Ministry inquiry into the South Sudan episode, the results of which were made public later on Friday.

“The Japanese people’s severe criticism of a cabinet member is something I take personally and seriously,” Mr. Abe said after accepting the resignation of Ms. Inada, a protégée and close political ally. “She indicated strongly that she wanted to take responsibility.”