The Tokyo District Court on Wednesday sentenced former Lower House lawmaker Joji Yamamoto to 11/2 years in prison for defrauding the state out of more than 25 million yen.

The court ruled that Yamamoto, 38, fraudulently obtained 25.49 million yen over three years after his election to the Lower House in October 1996 by pocketing the state-paid salary of a woman falsely registered as his policy secretary.

Later in the day, Yamamoto appealed the ruling to the Tokyo High Court and was released after providing bail of 30 million yen.

In his ruling, Judge Wataru Nemoto said Yamamoto threatened people's confidence in the political system by using his position as a Diet member to swindle substantial amounts from state coffers.

"Given that he held a position which requires one to be highly ethical and free from corruption, he should bear grave responsibility for having betrayed trust," Nemoto told the court.

The judge said Yamamoto, a former member of the Democratic Party of Japan, decided to steal state funds to "build up his own assets" and that he "committed the crime without hesitation," showing that he has a "dull sense of ethics and moral conduct."

"Even though he has fully reimbursed all the funds and has since resigned as a Diet member, he deserves a prison term," the judge said.

Appearing before the court in a dark gray suit, Yamamoto showed no obvious reaction when he received the prison term. He admitted all charges and apologized to voters in previous trial hearings.

Prosecutors had demanded a 21/2 year term.

According to the ruling, Yamamoto conspired with another state-paid secretary to obtain the 25.49 million yen that was paid to a woman registered as his secretary in 48 installments between November 1996 and September 1999.

He registered the woman as his secretary for policy affairs, a position qualifying for a state-paid salary, soon after his election in 1996. The court deemed he did this solely to obtain her salary from the government.

In an attempt to conceal the fraud, Yamamoto falsely reported to the Tokyo election administration office in May that the woman had donated 9 million yen to two bodies supporting him, in violation of the Law to Regulate Money Used for Political Activities, it said.

In the trial's opening statement in November, prosecutors said the woman did not do any policy-related work, based on mutual consent, and Yamamoto's other secretaries told her that she did not need to come to his office.

The state paid about 10 million yen to Yamamoto's office annually to cover the woman's salary but he gave her only between 50,000 yen and 150,000 yen a month, mainly to cover tax, prosecutors said.

Of the 25.49 million yen, about 23 million yen was used to cover office expenses and fund his political activities, they said.

Yamamoto, who was re-elected in the June 2000 general election from Tokyo's No. 21 constituency, gave up his Lower House seat and DPJ membership soon after his arrest in September. He has since returned about 28.61 million yen to the state, the money he swindled plus interest.

Another of his secretaries was also arrested on charges of conspiring with Yamamoto but prosecutors dropped the charge against him as his role was unclear.