Police turned Lower House member Masanori Arai over to prosecutors Tuesday for allegedly ordering his campaign manager to buy votes for the Nov. 9 general election.
Arai, 48, a member of the Liberal Democratic Party, was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time.
He has denied any wrongdoing, claiming he merely asked his senior campaign manager to distribute government subsidies to the LDP to cover expenses for local chapter activities.
Police said Arai is suspected of instructing Ikuo Sunagawa, 54, in late October to disburse 1.8 million yen to 18 people, including senior LDP officials and supporters in his Saitama No. 8 district, for vote-buying activities such as visiting voters' homes to drum up support for him.
Police said they also sent to prosecutors Sunagawa and Takashi Murata, 63, a secretary for Arai, for their alleged involvement in the vote-buying activities.
