KOCHI (Kyodo) The Kochi District Court on Monday sentenced Masatoshi Yabuki, a policy secretary to former Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Masanori Goto, to a suspended 2 1/2-year prison term for violating the election law.

Yabuki was convicted of violating the Public Offices Election Law by paying a total of 2.15 million yen to 19 campaign workers in return for soliciting votes for the former Lower House member during campaigning for the Sept. 11 general election.

Paying campaign workers is banned under the law, with a few exceptions.

In response to the ruling, the Takamatsu High Public Prosecutor's Office plans to ask the district court to ban Goto from running for the House of Representatives for five years in his former constituency -- the Kochi No. 1 single-seat district.

Goto resigned his seat in the Lower House in December shortly after Yabuki, 50, admitted to the allegation in court.

Yabuki's conviction would have made Goto lose his seat under the election law's guilt-by-association clause.