Former Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai announced his resignation as a lawmaker Tuesday after pleading guilty at a Tokyo court to vote-buying in a bid to secure a seat for his wife in a 2019 Japanese upper house election.
Kawai, a House of Representatives member, is accused of violating the election law by handing out cash to politicians and supporters in Hiroshima Prefecture, western Japan, to reward them for votes secured in the campaign to get his wife Anri Kawai elected in July 2019.
During questioning by prosecutors at the Tokyo District Court, Kawai, 58, said, "I will not fight the vote-buying charge by and large," reversing his earlier pleas of innocence in previous court hearings.
"I cannot deny that I had desired to get Anri elected," he added and expressed his intention to quit as a lawmaker, saying, "I will take all the blame."
According to the indictment, Kawai handed out a total of about 29 million yen ($266,000) to 100 local politicians and supporters in return for securing votes for his wife in the 2019 House of Councillors election.
Kawai, however, denied Tuesday that he had conspired with his 47-year-old wife, although she was convicted in January of conspiring with her husband and sentenced to 16 months in prison, suspended for five years. Anri Kawai resigned as an upper house member in February.
The former minister also denied part of the charges, saying money he gave to the campaign staff was not intended to secure votes for his wife.
Kawai said he had continued to plead innocent "to protect the dignity of my wife and supporters." But he said he changed his mind after seeing his supporters testify in court.
By February, 94 of the 100 people who allegedly received cash from Kawai had said they understood the money was intended for vote-buying.
Japan's top government spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato, said it was "very unfortunate" that a former justice minister was facing criminal charges.
"Elections are fundamental to democracy, so it goes without saying that rules need to be followed," said Kato, who served alongside Kawai as health minister under former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. "Politicians and those who aim to become politicians must act with this in mind."
Appointed justice minister in September 2019, Kawai stepped down just over a month later after the Shukan Bunshun weekly magazine reported on possible election law violations during his wife's campaign.
Kawai apologized several times in court, saying, "I have taken actions that undermine the (public) trust in elections."
He was released on 50 million yen bail on March 3 after his defense team filed a fifth request for his release.
The Kawais were arrested last June. Both of them left the ruling Liberal Democratic Party shortly before their arrest.
Their arrests shed light on the LDP headquarters' provision of 150 million yen, an unusually large sum, to Kawai's camp, which was backed by then Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, now prime minister, and other heavyweight LDP politicians.
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Japan lawmaker Anri Kawai found guilty of vote-buying in 2019 election
