A former mayor of Kamagaya, Chiba Prefecture, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to accepting a bribe from a construction company via an aide to Yutaka Inoue, former president of the House of Councilors.
In his first trial session, 50-year-old Keiichiro Minagawa admitted receiving 2 million yen from Inoue's office, but claimed the money was a gift and did not constitute a bribe.
Minagawa stands accused of receiving 10 million yen in return for helping another construction company, Kumagai Gumi Co., win a contract to build a recreational facility in the prefecture.
The now-bankrupt Shinto Kensetsu, Kumagai Gumi's subcontractor, allegedly prepared the bribe.
After bids were tendered, Minagawa received bribes three times between January 2000 and March the same year via Inoue's former state-paid secretary, 48-year-old Yoshio Handa, and others, according to the indictment.
Those charged with offering the bribes were Handa; Kazuo Nozaki, a close aide to Inoue; and Isao Nakamura, former president of Shinto Kensetsu.
All three later confessed to the charges.
Former Kamagaya Deputy Mayor Akira Kawai, 60, who was also charged with accepting 10 million yen separately over the public works construction project, claims he is innocent.
Kumagai Gumi won the contract to construct the facility for 777 million yen and subcontracted Shinto Kensetsu to do the work.
Inoue, 74, resigned as an Upper House lawmaker over the scandal on May 2, the day Handa and several others were arrested. He stepped down as Upper House president on April 19 over the scandal involving his aide.