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Former Air Self-Defense Force chief Toshio Tamogami on Monday was sentenced to 22 months in prison, suspended for five years, after being found guilty of making illegal payments to his campaign staff in his unsuccessful Tokyo gubernatorial bid in February 2014.
The ruling was handed down by the Tokyo District Court. Tamogami, 68, had pleaded not guilty before the trial, maintaining that he did not give approval to a senior staff member to pay money, Fuji TV reported.
Tamogami was indicted on a charge of conspiring with senior campaign staff in paying 2 million yen to his then campaign manager Nobuteru Shimamoto, and a total of 2.8 million yen to five other staffers between March and May in 2014.
Under the election law, paying campaign staff is banned in principle because it amounts to bribery.
Prosecutors said Tamogami readily agreed to give financial rewards and even suggested they be increased from 1 million yen to 2 million yen when the senior campaign staff sought his permission to pay Shimamoto who is being tried separately.
The defense counsel, however, claimed that though the senior campaign staff proposed paying Shimamoto, Tamogami did not approve the move. Tamogami did not confirm if the payment was made because he did not think it was an important issue, it said.
Tamogami told a news conference after the verdict that he was disappointed because prosecutors failed to present any tangible evidence of a conspiracy and that he felt the trial was unfair, Fuji reported. He said he intends to appeal.
In 2008, Tamogami was removed as ASDF chief of staff after an essay he wrote justifying Japan's wartime aggression was made public. He retired soon afterward.
21 Comments
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Scrote
In pleading "not-guilty" Tamogami shows his lack of repentance at attempting to pervert the electoral system. I think that deserves a jail sentence, but as he is a mate of Abe's he walks away.
Alfie Noakes
Anyone interested in the Tamogami backstory should read this brilliant set of articles:
http://www.mutantfrog.com/2008/11/04/gen-tomagami-toshio-motoya-toshio-and-abe-shinzo/
What the article doesn't mention is that the "essay" was winner of a contest organised by APA Group chairman Motoya Toshio, the far-right businessman, in 2008. Motoya and his wife, APA hotel boss Fumiko, were in the news recently for their anti-semitic, racist, historical-revionist views, as published in books placed in their hotels rooms.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/19/business/japan-china-motoya-hotel-apa.html?_r=0
Motoya and Tamogami are old mates from Komatsu in Ishikawa. Even more interesting is that Motoya and Shinzo Abe have a long and deep relationship. Motoya apparently ran a secretive and shadowly support group for Abe, called the Anshinkai.
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%AE%89%E6%99%8B%E4%BC%9A
Abe, Motoya, Tamogami. Birds of a feather, flocking together.
albaleo
Did this article change at some point? Some of the comments don't make sense.
englisc aspyrgend
Talk about a self centred sour faced individual, this photograph is a classic exaple, your face much after 40 is determined by you, the lines created are a product of your outlook/feelings and the way you pull your face in to particular expressions to express your thoughts and feelings both conscious and unconscious. I will let you all decide what that says about this guy!
smithinjapan
Educator60: "i don't want to bet anything at all. The answer is in the first sentence of the article."
Good point, although I swear that wasn't there when I posted (maybe it was and I missed it. I do recall checking for it, though, before posting!). In any case, you can save that bet remark for the next Japanese politician/exec, because none are ever punished... ever.
Moderator
It was there from the beginning.
thepersoniamnow
It must be great to be assured of no punishment no matter what you do.
sensei258
Of course he's going to appeal his suspended sentence, gotta keep up appearances
GW
Nice Japan, ANOTHER one getting away with it!!! How come so many criminal politicians pretty much NEVER see the inside of a cell, this is clearly all very very wrong, totally MIJ!
sensei258
Wow, a high-ranking official gets a suspended sentence, who would have thought
Goodlucktoyou
@gogo Except the Livedoor guy.
CH3CHO
By the way, this law makes incumbent and those with strong party support win elections. A candidate needs a lot of campaign staff who post election posters at hundreds of public bulletin boards, and they must work for him free. A new comer who does not have free campaign staff cannot post enough election posters at public bulletin boards and loses the election.
smithinjapan
How much do you guys want to bet that despite pleading not guilty and being found guilty on top of everything else this disgusting excuse for a human has done, he'll get a suspended sentence?
gogogo
suspended sentence, no one "famous" goes to jail here
Aly Rustom
Agree with above 2 posters 100%
Stupid semantics. He is guilty. Anyone with half a brain can see that.
He's right. The trial was unfair. He should have gone to jail for a long time, not gotten a suspended sentence. Ridiculous
mataka
As if we needed reminding that the self congratulatory wholly inept Japanese justice system is not useless and despised enough already. After being fired for unintelligent statements while in office, Tamogami received over half a million dollars in compensation. The man is typical of these types of cancers that plague and blight our lives. A suspended sentence is completely meaningless. Unless younger Japanese stand up to this, nothing will change.
some14some
suspended sentence...as usual...now lets wait for another scandal.