The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office on Friday filed criminal charges in a summary indictment against former Tokyo Gov Naoki Inose for violation of the Public Election Law.
Inose, 67, resigned in December one year after taking the job, for accepting an undeclared 50 million yen from medical group Tokushukai. Inose had faced weeks of intense pressure over suspicions that the money amounted to a bribe in an attempt to influence policy.
The summary indictment meant that Inose will not appear in court but instead was fined 500,000 yen for not reporting the funds, NHK said.
Inose maintained that the loan was a private matter and not a political donation, but conceded earlier this week that the money could have been misconstrued as a political donation.
The money trail surfaced last September when prosecutors raided the Tokyo headquarters of Tokushukai over claims it had paid staff to campaign for the election ambitions of Takeshi Tokuda, one of the heirs to the family fortune.
A week later Inose returned the 50 million yen to the family, but by mid-November the transaction had become public knowledge.
At the time, Inose said he was offered the money by the Tokudas and felt "it would be rude to refuse".
However, prosecutors said it was Inose himself who reached out to the Tokuda family, and had asked for 100 million yen before the election.
© Japan Today
14 Comments
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gogogo
No jail for rich people in Japan, suspended sentence again....
TumbleDry
A company lending 50M JPY? Screams corruption.
Gobshite
I wonder if he will borrow it?
SenseNotSoCommon
Fined 1% of the bribe. (Yes, let's call a spade an implement with a known utility for digging). Business as usual!
toshiko
He still has to pay 50 million yen to Tokushukai,
Disillusioned
He was drunk and doesn't remember! Case closed!
smithinjapan
I smell a suspended sentence in the works. Then re-election.
toshiko
The summary indictment meant that Inose will not appear in court but instead was fined 500,000 yen for not reporting the funds, NHK said.
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Best for people not loaded like him, do npt appel and accept verdict. More court, more money neededNow hw ha to worry Tokushukai sue him for his unpaid debt.
ka_chan
J-gov is still an old-boys network. They probably have to kill some before any jail and even then.....
Michael Craig
Inose's a conservative! They'd never have one of their own jailed!
toshiko
@Educator80 As the article clearly states, he has already returned the money./
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Thank you for correcting me,
biznas
Once again, biz as usual. This is old news about the fine; but when we read indictment, we assume jail time. No jail time for this ugly dude, just fines, and he probably can pay from the illegal funds Im guessing he still has )
toshiko
Inose was initially at odds with LDP lawmakers in the metropolitan assembly during confirmation hearings, and shortly thereafter overturned an LDP-sponsored urban redevelopment initiative, although Ishihara later pressured Inose to cooperate with the LDP lawmakers.
Upon his resignation in 2012, Governor Ishihara designated Inose as his interim successor; Inose was elected as governor of Tokyo in the Tokyo gubernatorial election, 2012 with the largest number of votes in Tokyo history. His platform included reform of the Tokyo Electric Power company and the merger of Tokyo Metro with the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation subway network, although he made minimal progress with either issue following his election.[
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Inose does not belong to LDP, current J-Govt. Also this prosecution was not done by J-Gvt. Nothing to do with old man politicians of LDP.