Police continued their questioning Saturday of Teruki Takenaka and five other public officials in Nagano Prefecture in a bid to uncover the truth behind a gubernatorial vote-influencing case.
The six arrested public officials are suspected of abusing their positions in an effort to garner votes for Fumitaka Ikeda, the former vice governor who lost the Oct. 15 gubernatorial election.
Takenaka, 57, chief engineer at the prefecture's civil engineering department, was arrested Friday evening and charged with violating the Public Office Election Law.
Handpicked by former Nagano Gov. Goro Yoshimura, who ruled Nagano for 20 years, Ikeda was defeated by novelist and political newcomer Yasuo Tanaka -- even though he had lined up support for his campaign from more than 3,000 groups, prefectural assemblies and local political heads.