Lawmaker Convicted Of Vote Buying Resigns
A member of the Upper House of Japan's Diet has submitted her resignation two weeks after being found guilty of vote buying in the election in which she won her seat.
Kawai Anri and her husband, former justice minister Kawai Katsuyuki, were accused of bribing local politicians in Hiroshima Prefecture before the 2019 Upper House election.
On January 21, the Tokyo District Court gave her a 16-month prison sentence, suspended for five years.
The lawmaker tendered her letter of resignation to Upper House President Santo Akiko on Wednesday, the day before the deadline for appeal.
Kawai is 47 years old. After serving as a member of the Hiroshima prefectural assembly, she ran for the Upper House as a candidate of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
She left the LDP last June, and was soon arrested and indicted. She claimed innocence throughout her trial.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Kato Katsunobu said in a news conference on Wednesday that politicians must decide their course on their own, and always keep in mind that public trust is essential for politics.
The Diet affairs chief of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party, Azumi Jun, told reporters that giving up a Diet seat is not enough for such unthinkably malicious violation of election laws.
He demanded that the LDP and Kawai explain publicly in the Diet.