A Japanese court on Thursday sentenced former ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Mito Kakizawa to two years in prison, suspended for five years, for an illegal campaign finance offense related to a Tokyo ward election in April last year.
The Tokyo District Court ruling said the former senior vice justice minister made payments, or offered to do so, totaling some 2.8 million yen ($19,000) to 10 people including incumbent assembly members that constituted bribes in connection with the Koto Ward mayoral election, in which a candidate he backed won.
"His criminal acts were malicious crimes and shook the people's confidence in the fairness of elections, which is the basis of democracy," Presiding Judge Katsuko Mukai said in handing down the ruling. Prosecutors had sought a prison term of two years without suspension.
Calling him "self-centered," Mukai said Kakizawa, 53, sought to strengthen his influence and position within the LDP by trying to give the candidate, Yayoi Kimura, a former LDP lawmaker, an advantage in the mayoral race.
Mukai said Kakizawa led and organized the illegal financing by giving instructions to his secretaries. Such acts should be "strongly condemned" and resulted in the public's "distrust in politics including at the national level," the judge said.
The judge also criticized him for appearing not to have shown sufficient remorse for violating the election law.
In the trial, Kakizawa admitted to the charges at his first hearing but effectively exercised his right to remain silent during cross-examination and refrained from commenting on his motivation for the illegal campaign financing.
According to the ruling, around February to October last year, Kakizawa provided a total of around 2.2 million yen to seven people, including former and incumbent Koto assembly members, while offering payments totaling 600,000 yen to three others.
The ruling also said Kakizawa conspired with Kimura to post a paid online advertisement during the mayoral race campaign at a cost of around 370,000 yen in another violation of the election law.
Kakizawa, who was serving his fifth term as a House of Representatives member, was arrested in December and stepped down as a lawmaker following his indictment.
If his verdict is finalized, he would lose his right to vote in and to stand for elections for the period during which his sentence is suspended.
Kimura, 58, who has been indicted without arrest in the case, resigned as mayor in November after accusations over her use of the advertisement surfaced.
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