A lawmaker at the heart of a bribery scandal involving a Chinese gambling operator seeking to enter Japan's forthcoming casino market was indicted Monday on a fresh bribery charge.
Tsukasa Akimoto, 48, is alleged to have received ¥2 million ($18,450) from the Chinese firm, 500.com Ltd., and had expenses of around ¥1.55 million covered by the company for a 2017 trip to its Shenzhen headquarters despite knowing it was seeking favorable treatment, according to the latest indictment.
Last month, the former member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, who had spearheaded the nation's recent move to legalize casino resorts, was indicted for allegedly receiving ¥3 million in cash from 500.com in September 2017 and also for having the firm cover about ¥760,000 of expenses linked to a family trip to Hokkaido in February 2018.