Prosecutors on Tuesday dropped a bribery case against all 100 individuals including local assembly members who allegedly received cash from former Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai in a high-profile vote-buying scandal.
The decision is highly unusual in a case where the bribery suspect has pleaded guilty and many of the alleged bribe takers have admitted to receiving money.
The suspected recipients are local assembly members and supporters in the constituency of Kawai's wife Anri, a former Upper House lawmaker. Kawai had said in a court hearing he sought their support to get his wife elected from Hiroshima Prefecture in the 2019 Upper House election.