Close aides to former Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai and his wife, Anri Kawai, both ruling party lawmakers, were indicted Tuesday over unlawful rewards paid to Anri Kawai's campaign staff during the Upper House election last summer, raising the possibility she will lose her parliamentary seat.
Indicted were Hiroshi Tatemichi, 54, a state-paid secretary to Anri Kawai, who was elected to the House of Councilors last July, and Shinsuke Takaya, 43, a policy secretary of Katsuyuki Kawai.
If Tatemichi, deemed by the prosecutors as Anri Kawai's campaign manager, is convicted, the lawmaker will be held jointly responsible for the election law violation, and could lose the seat she secured in the Hiroshima constituency on the ticket of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.