Two former senior officials of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's Nagasaki prefectural chapter received suspended prison sentences Friday after being found guilty of illegally demanding political donations from construction firms for last year's gubernatorial election.
The Nagasaki District Court sentenced Goro Asada, 65, to 30 months in prison with labor, suspended for five years, and Jitsuo Yasuda, 65, to two years imprisonment, suspended for five years. In granting the leniency, the court said the pair weren't the first to engage in such acts.
Prosecutors had asked for 30 months imprisonment with labor for Asada, who was secretary general of the chapter, and 30 months in prison for Yasuda, who headed the chapter's secretariat.
Asada and Yasuda pleaded guilty on the opening day of their trial in March.