Why did the lawmaker couple widely distribute a huge sum of cash to local assembly members and others? This issue must be clarified in court to dispel public distrust in politics.
Former Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai, who is a member of the House of Representatives, and his wife Anri, who belongs to the House of Councillors, pleaded not guilty at the first hearing of their trial over a large-scale vote-buying scandal tied to the upper house election last summer. They are both suspected of violating the Public Offices Election Law.
Katsuyuki Kawai, who was elected from Hiroshima Prefecture, was indicted on charges of providing 100 people, including municipal leaders and assembly members in the prefecture, with a total of about 29 million yen in order to secure victory in the election for Anri Kawai on the ruling Liberal Democratic Party ticket. She is believed to have conspired in some of the incidents.
In the opening statement, prosecutors said the couple brazenly asked for support in election campaigning and offered people cash as a reward without asking them for receipts. If this is true, it is an unforgivable act that undermines the fairness of an election.
The couple basically admitted to the provision of cash but denied the intention to buy votes, claiming the cash was intended mainly to encourage them ahead of local elections or expand support base of the couple, and that it was a legally permissible political activity.
Fundamentally, political funds should be used for such purposes as holding meetings in which lawmakers directly report to their supporters on state affairs, or publicizing and promoting their policies. Voters will never understand the argument that distributing up to several millions of yen in cash to a large number of influential local people is a political activity.
Among those who received the money, some municipal leaders and assembly members have resigned to take responsibility. The public has cast a severe eye on problems related to money in politics, and it is a grave matter to have fostered public distrust in politics.
The couple has avoided explaining the incident to the public on the grounds that it was "under investigation." They must fulfill their accountability as Diet members before the court.
The key to the trial from here on out will be the examination of witnesses from among the 100 people, including local assembly members, who received the cash. How did these people interact with the couple? What did they think was the purpose of the cash? Accumulating testimony will shed light on the full picture of the case.
Before the upper house election, the LDP headquarters offered 150 million yen to Anri Kawai's side. Hopefully the prosecution will clarify whether that money is related to the vote-buying scandal.
The problem remains of how to deal with those who received the cash. The Public Offices Election Law stipulates that the people who accepted the money can also be punished for taking a bribe. However, the prosecution has not taken any criminal action and has remained silent on the matter.
Prosecutors have a great deal of leeway in deciding whether to indict the recipients of the cash. However, the Kawais' case lacks balance compared with past cases of election violations. The defense attorneys have said the prosecutors are suspected of engaging in illegal plea bargaining, and are demanding that the trial be terminated.
If nothing is done, the credibility of the testimony by the recipients of the cash could be questioned. Even if prosecutors do not indict the cash recipients, they should carefully explain why.
-- The original Japanese article appeared in The Yomiuri Shimbun on Aug. 27, 2020.
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