Forty people, including local assembly members and heads of local governments, were offered cash totaling 16.8 million yen from a lawmaker couple at the center of a vote-buying scandal, according to sources close to the case. Of the 40, 10 generally admitted to reporters they received the cash.
In the scandal, House of Representatives member and former Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai, 57, and wife, Anri, 46, a House of Councillors member, have been arrested on suspicion of providing cash to local assembly members and others in the House of Councillors election last July, in which Anri won a seat. The couple allegedly offered cash to a total of 94 people including the 40. They both have left the Liberal Democratic Party amid the scandal.
According to sources, the 40 include two local government heads: Yoshinori Tenma, 73, who was mayor of Mihara, Hiroshima Prefecture, at the time when he was provided the cash, and Shinji Kosaka, 71, former mayor of Akiota in the prefecture, who resigned in April. The two received a total of 1.7 million yen from the couple, the sources said.
In addition, the sources said that 14 members of the Hiroshima prefectural assembly were provided a total of 7.1 million yen, while 21 members of six city assemblies, including the cities of Hiroshima and Kure, received a total of 7.3 million yen, and three members of town assemblies received a total of 700,000 yen.
The remaining 54 include Anri's campaign officials and supporters, who allegedly received a total of 8.9 million yen.
Of the 40, 10 people generally admitted to reporters that they received the cash, while 15 denied the allegations, with one saying, "I didn't get [the cash]." The remaining 15 neither admitted nor denied getting any money, with one saying, "No comment," while others did not answer written questions from The Yomiuri Shimbun.
According to Kawai's lawyer, the lawmaker admitted to investigators that he had provided cash but denied the charges, saying he had no intention of buying votes. His wife also denied the charges.
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