In a sudden reversal, former Tokyo Gov. Naoki Inose admitted Friday that the ¥50 million loan he received from the Tokushukai hospital group was intended to get him through the 2012 gubernatorial election.
"It was true that I was intending to use the money to finance my political campaign for fear my own funds might run short," Inose said at a press conference. "So there was undeniably a political aspect to the loan."
It was a busy day for the prize-winning author and critic. Prosecutors started by filing criminal charges against him. Then he was fined ¥500,000 by the Tokyo Summary Court for by failing to report the loan to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government election board for the December 2012 election.